Baseball Game Preview: Sterling Golden Warriors vs. Hall Red Devils

The Sterling Golden Warriors will take on the Hall Red Devils at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Sterling took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-4 victory over Moline. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Golden Warriors have posted since March 21st.

Eli Penne

Batters Struck Out

04/16/25 vs Moline	5
04/10/25 vs Rock Island	5
03/28/25 vs Eastland	5

Sterling got a great performance from Eli Penne as he tossed 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Penne has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Adrian Monarrez, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Cale Nettleton, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Hall never let their opponents score on Monday. Everything went their way against Kewanee as they made off with a 15-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Red Devils, who have now won six games by seven runs or more so far this season.

Hall pushed their record up to 8-6 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Sterling, their win bumped their record up to 7-10.

Sterling couldn't quite finish off Hall in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 5-3. Can the Golden Warriors avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.