Baseball Game Preview: Bucklin Red Aces vs. Skyline Thunderbirds

Bucklin is 9-1 against Skyline since March of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Red Aces will head out to face off against the Thunderbirds at 4:00 p.m. Bucklin will be strutting in after a victory while Skyline will be coming in after a loss.

Last Tuesday, Bucklin beat Minneola 4-1. The win continues a trend for the Red Aces in their matchups with the Wildcats: they've now won eight in a row.

Jack Willems

Batters Struck Out (Career)

04/08/25 @ Minneola	9
03/31/25 @ Elkhart	4
03/27/25 @ Kinsley	3
03/27/25 @ Kinsley	3
04/02/24 vs Minneola	3

Jack Willems made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. That home run was his first of the season.

Meanwhile, Skyline was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their tenth straight defeat dating back to last season. 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.

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

Bucklin couldn't quite get it done against Skyline in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 as they fell 13-9. Can the Red Aces avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.