The Rock Island Rocks will head out to challenge the Geneseo Maple Leafs at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Rock Island's pitching crew has only allowed 2.8 runs per game this season, so Geneseo's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Rock Island proved they can win big on Saturday (they won by six) and on Tuesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past East Moline United 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Rocks have posted since April 17th.
Maddie Carroll spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on seven hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jozie Kerr, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Rock Island hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as East Moline United struck out seven times.
Meanwhile, Geneseo waltzed into their contest on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. Everything went their way against the Maroons as they made off with a 12-2 win. The Maple Leafs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 games by six runs or more this season.
Kendyl Wassenhove made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits (and not a single walk). That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in March. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Madisyn Buysse was a standout: she went 3-for-5 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple. She is on a roll when it comes to RBI, as she's now brought in three or more in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Penny Kline, who went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI.
Rock Island pushed their record up to 17-8 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Geneseo, their record now sits at 20-7.
Rock Island came out on top in a nail-biter against Geneseo when the teams last played back in April, sneaking past 3-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Rocks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
