The Cedar Grove-Belgium Rockets will venture away from home to square off against the New Holstein Huskies at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Cedar Grove-Belgium is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.7 runs per game this season.
Cedar Grove-Belgium came out on top against Sheboygan Area Lutheran on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive six-run fifth inning. The Rockets never let the Crusaders get on the board and left with a 10-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Rockets in their matchups with the Crusaders: they've now won eight in a row.
Seth Race
| 05/15/25 vs Sheboygan Area Lutheran | 5 |
| 04/26/25 @ Adams-Friendship | 4 |
| 04/22/25 vs Algoma | 3 |
| 04/17/25 @ Howards Grove | 3 |
| 05/03/25 @ Kewaskum | 1 |
Cedar Grove-Belgium got a great performance from Seth Race as he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave Race a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
At the plate, Griffin Knight and Ira Hilbelink did most of the damage at the plate: Knight went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and one run, while Hilbelink went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double. Knight is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Jonah Banton was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs.
Cedar Grove-Belgium always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, New Holstein was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a 6-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of Chilton. That's two games in a row now that the Huskies have lost by exactly four runs.
New Holstein saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Colton Doherty, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and two doubles.
Cedar Grove-Belgium pushed their record up to 15-3 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for New Holstein, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-10.
New Holstein's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Cedar Grove-Belgium has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .439. It's a different story for New Holstein, though, as they've only averaged .352. Will they be able to contain Cedar Grove-Belgium's hitters?
Cedar Grove-Belgium came out on top in a nail-biter against New Holstein in their previous meeting back in May of 2018, sneaking past 4-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Rockets since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
