The Limestone Rockets will take on the Bloomington Purple Raiders at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Limestone has six straight wins, Bloomington has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Limestone is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 17-7 margin over Olympia on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Rockets, who have now won ten games by six runs or more so far this season.
Evan Daxenbichler made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Limestone is undefeated when Daxenbichler posts two or more runs, but 11-12 otherwise.
Bryce Chapman
| 05/16/25 @ Olympia | 3 |
| 03/24/25 vs Richwoods | 2 |
| 03/22/25 vs Byron | 2 |
| 04/17/24 @ Washington | 2 |
| 03/15/24 vs Farmington | 2 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Bryce Chapman, who got on base in four of his six plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and two stolen bases. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (three). Another player making a difference was Alec Williams, who went 2-for-5 with four RBI, one run, and one double.
Limestone was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .514. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Bloomington fell victim to Normal Community and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They lost 10-0 to the Ironmen.
Limestone's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-12. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.7 runs over those games. As for Bloomington, their loss dropped their record down to 18-12.
Limestone came out on top in a nail-biter against Bloomington in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 1-0. Do the Rockets have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Purple Raiders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
