The Villa Grove Blue Devils will venture away from home to take on the Sullivan Redskins at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Villa Grove is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.7 runs per game this season.
Villa Grove proved they can win big on Monday (they won by eight) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 19-17 victory over Shawnee. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Blue Devils have posted since May 24, 2024.
Izzy Dodd
| 04/11/25 @ Shawnee | 4 |
| 03/27/25 @ Paxton-Buckley-Loda | 3 |
| 05/01/24 vs Tuscola | 3 |
| 04/01/25 vs Georgetown-Ridge Farm | 2 |
| 05/09/24 @ Rantoul | 2 |
Izzy Dodd was a standout: she scored four runs and stole a base while going 4-for-5. Those four runs gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Madison Hinds, who went 4-for-6 with three stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI.
Villa Grove was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .488. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Shawnee only posted a batting average of .361.
Meanwhile, Sullivan was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They came up short against LeRoy, falling 14-3.
Sullivan saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was J'Nai Webb, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI. Nevaeh Dovell was another, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
Villa Grove is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. As for Sullivan, their loss dropped their record down to 8-6.
Sullivan's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Villa Grove has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.7 hits per game. It's a different story for Sullivan, though, as they've been averaging 9.3 hits. Given Villa Grove's sizable advantage in that area, the Redskins will need to find a way to close that gap.
Villa Grove took their victory against Sullivan in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 11-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blue Devils since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
