Baseball Game Preview: Belleville West Maroons vs. De Smet Jesuit Spartans

The Belleville West Maroons will face off against the De Smet Jesuit Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. De Smet Jesuit took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Belleville West, who comes in off a win.

Belleville West is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 14-1 margin over Mater Dei on Wednesday.

Ethan Hofmeister

Runs (Career)

03/26/25 @ Mater Dei	3
04/08/24 vs Gibault Catholic	2
03/27/24 @ Freeburg	2
03/25/25 vs Quincy	1
03/20/25 vs East Moline United	1

Ethan Hofmeister made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring three runs while going 2-for-4. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Michael Robertson was incredible, scoring four runs while going 3-for-3. He also put up two doubles, which were his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Bryce Schaltenbrand, who scored two runs while going 3-for-5.

The home team had won the previous four meetings between De Smet Jesuit and Edwardsville, and Edwardsville kept the tradition alive. De Smet Jesuit came up short against Edwardsville on Tuesday, falling 12-5.

The victory got Belleville West back to even at 2-2. As for De Smet Jesuit, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season.

Belleville West came out on top in a nail-biter against De Smet Jesuit when the teams last played back in March of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. Will Belleville West repeat their success, or does De Smet Jesuit has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.