Baseball Game Preview: Stark County Rebels vs. Bureau Valley Storm

The Stark County Rebels will head out on the road to challenge the Bureau Valley Storm at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Bureau Valley took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Stark County, who comes in off a win.

On Thursday, Stark County narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Knoxville 3-2. That's two games straight that the Rebels have won by just one run.

Kaedon Steelman made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Stark County is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-15 otherwise. Steelman was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.

Jordan Walton

Hits (Career)

04/30/26 vs Knoxville	2
04/11/26 vs Ridgewood [AlWood/Cambridge]	1
04/11/26 vs Ridgewood [AlWood/Cambridge]	1
04/09/26 vs Biggsville West Central	1
03/30/26 @ Rockridge	1

Steelman wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jordan Walton, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. Those two hits gave Walton a new career-high.

Meanwhile, Thursday just wasn't the day for Bureau Valley's offense. They lost 12-0 to Monmouth United on Thursday. The defeat continues a trend for the Storm in their meetings with the Red Storm: they've now lost three in a row.

The victory made it two in a row for Stark County and bumps their season record up to 5-16. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of one runs across that stretch. As for Bureau Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 7-7.

Stark County might still be hurting after the 11-1 defeat they got from Bureau Valley when the teams last played back in April of 2025. Can the Rebels avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.