Baseball Preview: Rockridge Rockets vs. East Moline United Panthers
Rockridge is 0-3 against East Moline United since May of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Rockridge Rockets will head out on the road to challenge the East Moline United Panthers at 4:30 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Rockridge took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They blew past Wethersfield/Annawan 11-4. Rockridge's win was all the more impressive since Wethersfield/Annawan was averaging only 3.65 runs allowed on the season.
Cullen Schwigen made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Schwigen was even better at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played.
In other pitching news, Ryan Oelke tossed a big game, striking out six batters over 4.2 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Keegan Bohnsack, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Joey Reiff, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, East Moline United entered their tilt with Sherrard with six consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with seven. They came out on top against the Tigers by a score of 7-4 on Monday.
East Moline United let Dominic Stottler and Brody Toland loose on the outfield. Stottler scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Toland scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Rockridge's record now sits at 8-13. As for East Moline United, they pushed their record up to 16-5 with that victory, which was their tenth straight at home.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Rockridge has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like East Moline United struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Rockridge suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to East Moline United in their previous matchup back in April of 2021. Can Rockridge avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
