Red Bud hasn't had much luck against Belleville East recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Musketeers will take on the Lancers at 4:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Red Bud's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 6-0 margin over Sparta. The victory was nothing new for the Musketeers as they're now sitting on five straight.
Julia Ohlau
| 05/08/25 @ Sparta | 0 |
| 05/01/25 vs Wesclin | 1 |
| 04/24/25 vs Carlyle | 1 |
| 04/23/25 @ Columbia | 1 |
| 04/22/25 @ Carlyle | 1 |
Julia Ohlau was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
In other batting news, Julia Whelan and Lilly Minemann did most of the damage at the plate: Whelan went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double, while Minemann went 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Red Bud was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .438. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .400 or higher in five consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Belleville East had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.7 runs) and they went ahead and made it ten on Thursday. They put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 10-1 win.
Belleville East pushed their record up to 19-5 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for Red Bud, their record now sits at 17-6.
Everything went Red Bud's way against Belleville East when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Red Bud made off with a 14-4 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Musketeers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
