The Rock Island Rocks will venture away from home to challenge the Sterling Golden Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Rock Island made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Moline, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Rocks blew past the Maroons 7-1 on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Rocks have posted against the Maroons since April 9, 2022.
Maddie Carroll spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on three hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances.
AJ Lincoln
| 04/01/25 @ Moline | 4 |
| 03/27/25 vs Sycamore | 3 |
| 04/04/24 @ Alleman | 3 |
| 03/25/25 @ Rockridge | 2 |
| 05/18/24 vs Normal West | 2 |
On the hitting side, Mallory Hudnall and AJ Lincoln did most of the damage at the plate: Hudnall scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Lincoln scored a run and stole a base while going 4-for-4. Those four hits gave Lincoln a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jozie Kerr, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
They weren't the only ones working in the hit department: Rock Island kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Moline only managed three hits.
Meanwhile, Sterling made easy work of Quincy on Tuesday and carried off a 10-2 win. The Golden Warriors haven't had any issues with the Blue Devils recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Lily Martinez made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Martinez was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
In other batting news, Lily Cantu was a standout: she went 1-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. That triple was her first of the season. Kaity Taylor was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Rock Island has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-2 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Sterling, their record now sits at 6-2.
Rock Island couldn't quite finish off Sterling in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 2-0. Can the Rocks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
