Baseball Game Preview: Springfield Southeast Spartans vs. Rochester Rockets

Springfield Southeast is 1-9 against Rochester since May of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Spartans will head out on the road to face off against the Rockets at 4:30 p.m.

Springfield Southeast managed to slip by Taylorville the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Spartans lost 7-0 to the Tornadoes on Monday.

Springfield Southeast saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Caden Van De Velde, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base. That stolen base marked the first that Van De Velde has snagged this season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Rochester). They put the hurt on Olympia with a sharp 15-2 victory on Monday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Rockets.

Frank Stefano made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March of 2025. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs. He is becoming a predictor of Rochester's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 7-8 when he doesn't).

Rochester kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.1 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 8.8.

Rochester's record now sits at 10-8. As for Springfield Southeast, their loss dropped their record down to 2-18.

Springfield Southeast suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to Rochester when the teams last played back in March of 2025. Can the Spartans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.