The Moline Maroons will face off against the Homestead Spartans at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Moline came into their game on Friday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They lost 9-2 to Crown Point. Having soared to a lofty ten runs in the game before, the Maroons couldn't push the score so high this time.
Meanwhile, Homestead faced Crown Point in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Spartans blew past the Bulldogs 11-5. The result was nothing new for the Spartans, who have now won nine contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Eli Shoppell tossed a big game, striking out ten batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits (and not a single walk). He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Luke Haley, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI. He has become a key player for Homestead: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 7-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Shane Bardwell, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Moline's defeat dropped their record down to 18-11. As for Homestead, they moved to 16-8 with that win, which also ended their three-game losing streak.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
