Baseball Recap: Rock Island Takes a Loss

Rock Island extended their losing streak to six on Friday, dropping their season record down to 9-16 in the process. They took a 9-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Alleman Pioneers. Unfortunately, that's the third time they've come up short against the Pioneers this season, with their most recent loss being a 2-1 defeat last Wednesday.

As for Alleman, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 26-9 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.9 runs on average over those games.

For Alleman's part, Kelly Honert looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Honert has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 14 consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Alleman let Cael Kuster and Jackson Smith run wild. Kuster went 3-for-4 with three runs and one RBI, while Smith went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. That's the most runs Kuster has posted over his last 12 games. Nolan Buchen was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base and two RBI.

Looking ahead, Rock Island will be playing in front of their home fans against LaSalle-Peru at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The Rocks are facing the Cavaliers at the right time seeing as the Cavaliers are stuck on a four-game losing streak. As for Alleman, they will challenge Morrison at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.