The Rock Island Rocks will challenge the Sterling Golden Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Rock Island's pitching crew has only allowed 2.7 runs per game this season, so Sterling's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Sterling will square off against a team with plenty of momentum: Rock Island extended their winning streak to three on Thursday. The Rocks never let Moline get on the board and left with a 4-0 win.
Maddie Carroll
| 04/24/25 vs Moline | 11 |
| 04/22/25 vs Galesburg | 15 |
| 04/16/25 @ Biggsville West Central | 9 |
| 04/12/25 vs Hononegah | 12 |
| 04/10/25 @ East Moline United | 12 |
| 04/01/25 @ Moline | 12 |
Not much got past Maddie Carroll, who gave up just a hit and racked up 11 Ks to keep Moline off the board. Carroll has been consistent: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ella DeJonghe, who went 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of AJ Lincoln, who got on base in two of her four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Sterling made easy work of Quincy on Thursday and carried off a 9-2 victory. Considering the Golden Warriors have won six games by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Lily Martinez made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits. Martinez was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Kaity Taylor was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That's the most hits she has posted since back in May of 2024. Rosie Cantu was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Sterling was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .382. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Quincy only posted a batting average of .214.
Sterling pushed their record up to 11-4 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Rock Island, their win bumped their record up to 13-6.
Sterling's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Rock Island has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Sterling, though, as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.7 strikeouts. Will Rock Island keep running through batters, or will the Golden Warriors buck the trend? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
