Baseball Game Preview: Waterloo Bulldogs vs. Belleville West Maroons

The Waterloo Bulldogs are taking a road trip to square off against the Belleville West Maroons at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Waterloo is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Highland just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Wednesday. They came up short against Highland, falling 9-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat Waterloo has suffered since April 17th.

Meanwhile, Belleville West gave up the first runs on Thursday, but they didn't let that get them down. They had just enough and edged out Alton 5-3.

Casey Fultz made a big impact no matter where he played. He tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off ten hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Adam Bilzing, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Braden Fournie, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Belleville West pushed their record up to 18-10 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.6 runs over those games. As for Waterloo, their loss dropped their record down to 21-10.

Waterloo was able to grind out a solid win over Belleville West in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, winning 5-0. Do the Bulldogs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Maroons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.