The Earlville Red Raiders are taking a road trip to square off against the South Beloit Sobos at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Earlville will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
Earlville barely beat Indian Creek the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Red Raiders put the hurt on the Timberwolves with a sharp 13-2 victory on Tuesday. The Red Raiders not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since April 3rd (when they won 16-0).
Meanwhile, South Beloit was not the first on the board on Saturday, but they got there more often. They blew past Parkview 14-4. The result was nothing new for the Sobos, who have now won eight games by ten runs or more so far this season.
Macey Lineman and Whitney Schnack made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Lineman pitched four innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Meanwhile, Schnack tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. At bat, Lineman got on base in four of her five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Schnack got on base in three of her five plate appearances with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, South Beloit got a massive performance out of Taniyah Crawford, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Jasmine Fago was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
South Beloit always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .625. They are a perfect 7-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
South Beloit has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.6 runs over those games. As for Earlville, they now have a winning record of 8-7.
Earlville skirted past South Beloit 4-3 when the teams last played back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Red Raiders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
