The Hamilton Southeastern Royals will challenge the Mt. Vernon Marauders at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Hamilton Southeastern took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They blew past Hamilton Heights 12-4. The win continues a trend for the Royals in their matchups with the Huskies: they've now won three in a row.
Tyler Sarver looked comfortable as he struck out ten batters over 3.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off one hit. Hamilton Southeastern is 2-1 when Sarver allows one or fewer hits, but 8-13 otherwise.
Clark Bucher
| 05/10/25 vs Hamilton Heights | 3 |
| 05/03/25 @ Bloomington North | 2 |
| 04/26/25 @ Lapel | 2 |
| 05/08/25 vs Noblesville | 1 |
| 04/28/25 vs Lawrence Central | 1 |
At the plate, Clark Bucher and Maddux Bach did most of the damage at the plate: Bucher went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two doubles, and one stolen base, while Bach went 2-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Those three RBI gave Bucher a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jackson Bixler, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.
Hamilton Southeastern hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hamilton Heights struck out 13 times.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mt. Vernon). They put the hurt on Muncie Central with a sharp 18-1 victory on Friday. Winning may never get old, but the Marauders sure are getting used to it with their fifth in a row.
Ben Schaeffer and Drew Morgan made a splash no matter where they played. Throwing, Schaeffer pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Morgan struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one hit in five consecutive appearances. At bat, Schaeffer went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI and one double, while Morgan went a perfect 2-for-2 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gage Blanchard, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Justin Jones, who went 1-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
Mt. Vernon pushed their record up to 10-5 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Hamilton Southeastern, their win bumped their record up to 10-14.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hamilton Southeastern has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mt. Vernon struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
