The Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons will head out to challenge the McLean County Cougars at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Madisonville-North Hopkins is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8 runs per game this season.
Madisonville-North Hopkins is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to ten runs on Monday, they were much more limited against Owensboro on Thursday. They came up short against the Red Devils, falling 6-0. The Maroons have struggled against the Red Devils recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost meeting.
Ryder Sandidge
| 04/24/25 @ Owensboro | 1 |
| 04/21/25 vs Trigg County | 2 |
| 04/18/25 @ Livingston Central | 2 |
| 04/17/25 @ Caldwell County | 1 |
Madisonville-North Hopkins saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ryder Sandidge, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base. Sandidge has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played.
Meanwhile, McLean County had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 runs) and they went ahead and made it seven on Thursday. They came out on top against the Trojans by a score of 6-2.
Jaelin Groves spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on four hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, Houston Whitaker and Layden Bozarth did most of the damage at the plate: Whitaker went 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Bozarth went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI Bozarth has posted since back in March of 2024. Connor Mitchuson also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
McLean County's win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-4. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Madisonville-North Hopkins, their loss dropped their record down to 10-9.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Madisonville-North Hopkins has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like McLean County struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Madisonville-North Hopkins might still be hurting after the 13-3 defeat they got from McLean County in their previous meeting back in March. Can the Maroons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
