Baseball Game Preview: Breese Central Cougars vs. Red Bud Musketeers

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Previous 5 Games

04/20/17 - Home	10-0 W
04/04/17 - Away	13-0 W
05/13/16 - Away	11-1 W
04/05/16 - Home	13-2 W
04/23/15 - Home	6-2 W

Breese Central has gone a perfect 5-0 against Red Bud recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Cougars will square off against the Musketeers at 4:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Breese Central took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand East Alton-Wood River a 10-0 shutout.

Red Bud came out on top against Sparta on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run sixth inning. The Musketeers were the clear victors by a 7-1 margin over the Bulldogs. The Musketeers haven't had any issues with the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

Trent Sternberg made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up a single earned run in seven consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lucas Schwartzkopf, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Derrick Whelan, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.

Breese Central has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 17-10 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Red Bud, their record now sits at 17-5.

Breese Central took their victory against Red Bud in their previous meeting back in April of 2017 by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.