The Charleston Trojans will square off against the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Charleston had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the nine-run drubbing they dealt Altamont on Wednesday. The Trojans never let the Indians get on the board and left with a 9-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Trojans in their matchups with the Indians: they've now won seven in a row.
Russell Applegate
| 04/11/25 vs Shelbyville | 4 |
| 04/22/25 vs Mahomet-Seymour | 3 |
| 04/30/25 @ Altamont | 2 |
| 04/28/25 vs Robinson | 2 |
| 04/18/25 @ Rantoul | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
Russell Applegate made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over six innings pitched. Applegate was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. He is becoming a predictor of Charleston's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 3-1 (and 4-10 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Corbin Parker was excellent, going 1-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Bonnstetter, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with one stolen base.
Charleston always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Altamont only posted an OBP of .222.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph-Ogden had already won 16 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.9 runs) and they went ahead and made it 17 on Wednesday. Everything went their way against the Tigers as they made off with a 7-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Spartans, who have now won 15 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Charleston pushed their record up to 7-11 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.7 runs over those games. As for St. Joseph-Ogden, their record now sits at 23-2.
Charleston suffered a grim 23-0 defeat to St. Joseph-Ogden in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Trojans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
