Baseball Game Preview: Skyline Thunderbirds vs. Bucklin Red Aces

Skyline hasn't had much luck against Bucklin recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Thunderbirds will be playing in front of their home fans against the Red Aces at 4:00 p.m. Skyline has given up an average of 17.4 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Skyline is headed into Monday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their tenth straight game dating back to last season on Thursday. They might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 12-1 to Kinsley, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.

Skyline saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Adler Nelson, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI. Keegyn Washington also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, Bucklin beat Minneola 4-1 on Tuesday. The Red Aces haven't had any issues with the Wildcats recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive victory against them.

Jack Willems was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double.

The win got Bucklin back to even at 3-3. As for Skyline, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-8.

Skyline was able to grind out a solid victory over Bucklin in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, winning 13-9. Will the Thunderbirds repeat their success, or do the Red Aces have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.