The Sterling Golden Warriors will square off against the Rock Falls Rockets at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Sterling is coming into the contest on a five-game losing streak.
Sterling lost 9-3 to Rock Island on Thursday.
Sterling saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cale Nettleton, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Rock Falls got the win against Stillman Valley on Thursday by a conclusive 9-3. The victory continues a trend for the Rockets in their matchups with the Cardinals: they've now won five in a row.
Ethan Mathews and Carter Hunter made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Mathews pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Hunter struck out six batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Rock Falls is 2-0-1 when Hunter allows three or fewer earned runs, but 3-4 otherwise. At bat, Mathews scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Hunter scored a run while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Austin Castaneda was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing six bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Rock Falls' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 2-4-1 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Owen Mandrell, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Rock Falls always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .523. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Stillman Valley only posted an OBP of .333.
Rock Falls now has a winning record of 5-4-1. As for Sterling, their loss dropped their record down to 5-8.
Sterling was able to grind out a solid win over Rock Falls in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, winning 8-5. Will the Golden Warriors repeat their success, or do the Rockets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
