Softball Game Preview: Blue Ridge Knights vs. Rantoul Eagles

Blue Ridge is 0-5 against Rantoul since April of 2015 but things could change on Tuesday. The Blue Ridge Knights will look to take advantage of their home field for the first time this season as they take on the Rantoul Eagles at 4:30 p.m. Neither Blue Ridge nor Rantoul posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.

Blue Ridge is coming home looking for redemption after taking a loss in their road opener. They fell just short of Donovan by a score of 2-1 on Monday.

Ellie Schlieper

Batters Struck Out (Career)

03/17/25 @ Donovan	19
03/26/24 @ Armstrong	14
05/07/24 vs Sullivan	11
03/27/24 vs Oakwood	11
04/16/24 vs Paxton-Buckley-Loda	10

Ellie Schlieper spent all 9.1 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on eight hits and racked up 19 Ks. Those 19 strikeouts gave her a new career-high.

On the hitting side, Blue Ridge saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Presley Hardesty, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Rantoul unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-field advantage in their season opener. They lost 11-0 to Westville on Monday. The Eagles haven't had much luck with the Tigers recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.

Blue Ridge might still be hurting after the 11-0 defeat they got from Rantoul in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Will Blue Ridge have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.