The Sterling Golden Warriors will head out to square off against the East Moline United Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Sterling is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.
Sterling proved they can win big on Tuesday (they won by eight) and on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Rock Island 5-4. The win continues a trend for the Golden Warriors in their matchups with the Rocks: they've now won five in a row.
Lily Martinez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on 12 hits.
At the plate, Marley Sechrest was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Lily Cantu, who went 1-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
East Moline United had taken Geneseo down for two straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Thursday. The Panthers fell just short of the Maple Leafs by a score of 7-6. The loss was the Panthers' first of the season.
Reagan Kearns was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. She didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run and two RBI.
Kearns wasn't the only one making solid contact as seven players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Samantha Verstraete, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double. Lauren Starkweather also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.
Sterling's victory bumped their record up to 7-2. As for East Moline United, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 4-1.
Sterling beat East Moline United 4-0 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Golden Warriors since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
