The Rock Island Rocks will square off against the George Washington Patriots at 10:00 a.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Rock Island will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Thursday, then bounced right back against Sycamore on Thursday. Rock Island blew past Sycamore 13-4.
Maddie Carroll made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Carroll was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one triple and one RBI.
In other batting news, Rock Island got a massive performance out of AJ Lincoln, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one triple. That's the most hits Lincoln has posted since back in April of 2024. Ella Leahy was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two triples, two runs, and two RBI.
Rock Island always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .552. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sycamore only posted an OBP of .333.
Meanwhile, George Washington got themselves on the board against Wyoming East on Monday, but Wyoming East never followed suit. They came out on top against the Warriors by a score of 5-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Patriots.
The result came thanks to Lauren Ballard's shutout, as she gave up just three hits and racked up seven Ks. What's more, she gave up only one walk, the fewest she's had since back in April of 2024.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ava Armstrong, who scored a run and stole three bases while going 3-for-4. Those stolen bases marked the first that she snagged this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Faith Tetrick, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one double, and one RBI.
George Washington pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Rock Island, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Rock Island hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like George Washington struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
