Softball Game Preview: Belvidere Buccaneers vs. Guilford Vikings

Belvidere is 8-2 against Guilford since May of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Buccaneers will venture away from home to face off against the Vikings at 4:30 p.m. Belvidere is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.

Belvidere played against Rockford East on Wednesday and won via forfeit.

Jade Kufalk

Batters Struck Out (Career)

05/06/26 vs Rockford East	10
03/25/26 @ Durand	4
04/11/26 vs North Boone	3
03/31/26 @ Winnebago	2
04/25/26 vs Wauconda	1

Jade Kufalk was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Those ten strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one run and one RBI.

In other batting news, Belvidere got a big performance out of Brecken Ralston-Walsh, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs. Those four RBI gave Ralston-Walsh a new career-high. Emma Guerra also deserves some recognition as she hit her first triple of the season.

Belvidere always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .848. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

On Wednesday, Guilford came up short against Boylan Catholic and fell 6-3.

Mary Bielefeldt was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with three RBI.

Guilford's loss was their sixth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 9-10. As for Belvidere, they now have a winning record of 13-12.

Belvidere came out on top in a nail-biter against Guilford in their previous meeting last Tuesday, sneaking past 6-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Buccaneers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.