The Tri-Valley Vikings will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the Hoopeston Cornjerkers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Tri-Valley is coming home in high spirits after they had to open their season on the road against Paxton-Buckley-Loda. Tri-Valley was the clear victors by an 11-2 margin over Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Monday. The victory continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won three in a row.
Cole Klein was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
Ethan Moore
| 03/17/25 @ Paxton-Buckley-Loda | 3 |
| 05/04/24 @ St. Joseph-Ogden | 2 |
| 04/22/24 @ El Paso-Gridley | 2 |
| 04/10/24 @ Fisher | 2 |
| 03/30/24 vs Bremen | 2 |
In other batting news, Ethan Moore was a standout: he scored three runs and stole Four bases. while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (three). Cade Danko was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing Three bases. while going 1-for-3.
Tri-Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Paxton-Buckley-Loda only posted a batting average of .172.
Meanwhile, Hoopeston hadn't done well against St. Thomas More recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Hoopeston came out on top in a nail-biter against St. Thomas More, sneaking past 3-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Cornjerkers have posted since April 22, 2024.
Dylan Judy made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over 4.2 innings pitched. Judy was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Judy wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Fletcher Swartz, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Tri-Valley took their victory against Hoopeston in their previous meeting back in March of 2022 by a conclusive 14-3. Will Tri-Valley repeat their success, or does Hoopeston have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
