Stillman Valley has gone a perfect 3-0 against Dakota recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Cardinals will host the Indians at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Stillman Valley has three straight wins, Dakota has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Stillman Valley is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 21-2 margin over Polo on Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Cardinals with their most commanding win of the season.
Jackson Musial made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March of 2024. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 4-for-4.
Ryan Rueff
| 04/01/25 @ Polo | 3 |
| 03/16/24 vs Plainfield East | 2 |
| 03/13/24 @ Lena-Winslow | 2 |
| 03/31/25 vs Jefferson | 1 |
| 03/27/25 vs Newark | 1 |
In other batting news, Stillman Valley let Cale Kleinschmidt and Ryan Rueff run wild. Kleinschmidt got on base in four of his five plate appearances with five RBI, three runs, and one double, while Rueff scored three runs while going 2-for-4. Those three runs gave Rueff a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jaxon Barrett, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Stillman Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .711. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Dakota didn't have quite enough to beat Johnsburg on Tuesday and fell 3-2.
Like Stillman Valley, Dakota also got a great game from a two-way player: Brody Keeney. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off eight hits (and not a single walk). Keeney has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, Braxton Mazurkiewicz made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one double and one RBI.
The victory was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 4-5. As for Dakota, their loss dropped their record down to 3-6.
Everything went Stillman Valley's way against Dakota in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Stillman Valley made off with an 8-2 win. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Indians turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
