The McLean County Cougars will head out to take on the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
McLean County is headed out to face Madisonville-North Hopkins after opening their season at home and giving their fans just what they were looking for. McLean County never let Hopkins County Central get on the board and left with a 15-0 win on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Cougars in their matchups with the Storm: they've now won seven in a row.
Jaelin Groves was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Groves was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Layden Bozarth was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024. Brooks Lynam was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Madisonville-North Hopkins put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. Everything went their way against Hancock County as Madisonville-North Hopkins made off with a 12-1 win.
Like McLean County, Madisonville-North Hopkins also got a great game from a two-way player: Brantley Harris. He pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits. Harris was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three RBI.
In other batting news, Evan Lear and Ryder Sandidge did most of the damage at the plate: Lear scored a run while going 1-for-2, while Sandidge scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Louie Ampry, who scored two runs and stole Two bases.
Madisonville-North Hopkins always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .562. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hancock County only posted an OBP of .333.
McLean County was able to grind out a solid victory over Madisonville-North Hopkins when the teams last played back in April of 2022, winning 8-5. Does McLean County have another victory up their sleeve, or will Madisonville-North Hopkins turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
