Baseball Game Preview: Neuqua Valley Wildcats vs. DeKalb Barbs

For the second straight game, Neuqua Valley will face off against DeKalb. The Wildcats will face off against the Barbs at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Neuqua Valley took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand DeKalb a 10-0 shutout. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Wildcats considering their two-run performance the contest before.

Josh Repmann

Batters Struck Out (Career)

05/06/25 vs DeKalb	7
04/29/25 @ Waubonsie Valley	3
04/15/25 vs Naperville Central	3
04/22/25 @ Metea Valley	2
03/26/25 @ Plainfield North	2

Josh Repmann tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Sam Widloe, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI. He has become a key player for Neuqua Valley: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 6-11-1 otherwise. Mike Langan was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI.

Neuqua Valley's win bumped their record up to 10-11-1. As for DeKalb, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 17-8-1 record this season.