Rochester Century vs.

Mankato East

5 p.m., Tuesday, May 14

Mac Horvath has provided quite the spark for Rochester Century this season. The junior shortstop and pitcher, who’s committed to North Carolina, has the Panthers (12-3, 8-1) challenging Mankato East for this season’s Big 9 Conference crown.

Horvath, who — working as a reliever — effectively mixes his pitches and reaches 90 miles per hour on the radar gun, projects to be a high-round draft pick in next year’s Major League Baseball draft, perhaps even a first-rounder according to some mock drafts, despite breaking his leg in a game against Stillwater last year; but now that he’s back, and he has reminded opponents he’s one of the state’s elite players.

In a pair of Saturday wins over Albert Lea, Horvath produced three hits, an RBI, two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. 

Mankato East has won eight consecutive games, keeping pace with Century (13-1, 8-1), with the Cougars’ lone blemish being a 4-1 loss to Rochester John Marshall on April 23.

In a 6-0 victory over rival Mankato West on April 25, Jackson Keller went 3-for-3 from the plate, with three RBI and a run scored. Keller, a senior catcher, has helped guide the Cougars offense to nearly 7.4 runs per game.