The Rock Falls Rockets are taking a road trip to challenge the Sterling Golden Warriors at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Rock Falls will be strutting in after a victory while Sterling will be coming in after a loss.
Rock Falls barely beat Stillman Valley the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Rockets put the hurt on the Cardinals with a sharp 9-3 win on Thursday. The result was nothing new for the Rockets, who have now won three games by six runs or more so far this season.
Ethan Mathews and Carter Hunter were a major factor no matter where they played. Throwing, Mathews tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Hunter struck out six batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Mathews has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Mathews scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Hunter scored a run while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Austin Castaneda
| 03/31/25 @ Prophetstown | 4 |
| 04/10/25 @ Stillman Valley | 3 |
| 04/03/25 vs Freeport | 2 |
| 04/08/25 @ Byron | 1 |
| 03/27/25 vs Princeton | 1 |
| + 1 more games |
In other batting news, Austin Castaneda was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing six bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Rock Falls' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 2-4-1 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Owen Mandrell, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Rock Falls always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .523. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Stillman Valley only posted an OBP of .333.
Meanwhile, Sterling was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They came up short against Rock Island, falling 9-3.
Sterling saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cale Nettleton, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Rock Falls has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 5-4-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Sterling, their loss dropped their record down to 5-8.
Rock Falls couldn't quite get it done against Sterling in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 as they fell 8-5. Can the Rockets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
