The McLean County Cougars will head out to square off against the Webster County Trojans at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. McLean County will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.
McLean County is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Hart County with a sharp 16-3 win on Wednesday. Considering the Cougars have won seven contests by more than seven runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Ayden Rice made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Rice was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one run and one double. That double was his first of the season.
In other batting news, Layden Bozarth was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Jayden Taylor also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
McLean County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .568. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hart County only posted an OBP of .381.
Meanwhile, Webster County scored first but ultimately less than University Heights in their game on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Blazers by a score of 8-7. The Trojans have struggled against the Blazers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost meeting.
Webster County saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gunnar Boone, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI. Another was Jackson Edens, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.
McLean County pushed their record up to 9-4 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Webster County, their loss dropped their record down to 10-7.
McLean County took their victory against Webster County when the teams last played back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 8-0 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.
