Baseball Game Preview: Willmar Cardinals vs. Rocori Spartans

Willmar is 2-8 against Rocori since May of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Cardinals will face off against the Spartans at 5:00 p.m.

Willmar managed to slip by Marshall the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Cardinals lost 10-1 to the Tigers on Monday. The Cardinals have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Rocori waltzed into their match on Tuesday with seven straight wins... but they left with eight. They walked away with a 7-3 win over the Storm.

Zander Folkerts was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. That double marked the first that he has hit this season. Another player making a difference was Caleb Maddox, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and one run.

Rocori was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .345 or higher in four consecutive games.

Rocori pushed their record up to 9-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Willmar, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-7-1.

Willmar came up short against Rocori when the teams last played back in April, falling 8-5. Can the Cardinals avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.