The Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons will take on the McLean County Cougars at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are still undefeated (Madisonville-North Hopkins has four wins dating back to last season, while McLean County has six dating back to last season).
Last Tuesday, everything went Madisonville-North Hopkins' way against Hancock County as Madisonville-North Hopkins made off with a 12-1 victory.
Brantley Harris
| 03/18/25 vs Hancock County | 3 |
| 03/17/25 vs Ohio County | 2 |
| 04/30/24 @ Union County | 2 |
| 05/10/24 @ Evansville Harrison | 1 |
| 04/27/24 vs Murray | 1 |
Brantley Harris made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits. Harris was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three RBI. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high.
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. What's more, Lear posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. 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.
Meanwhile, McLean County gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Tuesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Hopkins County Central a 15-0 shutout.
Jaelin Groves made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Groves was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Layden Bozarth was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. Connor Mitchuson was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Madisonville-North Hopkins' win bumped their record up to 3-0. As for McLean County, they pushed their record up to 1-0 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season.
Madisonville-North Hopkins couldn't quite get it done against McLean County in their previous matchup back in April of 2022 as they fell 8-5. Can Madisonville-North Hopkins avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
