Sages
| 04/07/25 @ Mt. Zion | 6 |
| 04/05/25 vs Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley | 9 |
| 04/03/25 @ Prairie Central | 5 |
| 04/01/25 @ St. Teresa | 14 |
| + 7 more games |
The Monticello Sages will venture away from home to challenge the Tri-Valley Vikings at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Monticello is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.8 runs per game this season.
Monticello's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Monday's struggle, when Mt. Zion hitters got past them. The Sages came up short against the Braves on Monday, falling 13-6. The Sages haven't had much luck with the Braves recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.
Sadie Walsh made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Ali Weidner, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Tri-Valley strolled into their game on Monday with an undefeated record and they left with the same. They were the clear victors by a 15-4 margin over El Paso-Gridley. The Vikings might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matches by ten runs or more this season.
The team relied heavily on Maren Milton, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs. Zoey Whittaker also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.
Tri-Valley kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits every time they've taken the field this season.
Tri-Valley's victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Monticello, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 11-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Monticello hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Tri-Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Monticello's way against Tri-Valley when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Monticello made off with a 16-4 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Sages since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
