Belvidere North is 8-2 against Rockford Auburn since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Blue Thunder will face off against the Knights at 5:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Belvidere North had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the eight-run drubbing they dealt Freeport on Wednesday. The Blue Thunder's pitcher stepped up to hand the Pretzels an 8-0 shutout. The Blue Thunder might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by seven runs or more this season.
Sophia Garza
| 04/23/25 @ Freeport | 4 |
| 04/12/24 @ Jefferson | 3 |
| 05/13/24 @ Freeport | 2 |
| 04/08/24 @ Guilford | 2 |
| 03/19/24 vs Crystal Lake South | 2 |
The team relied heavily on Sophia Garza, who went 1-for-3 with four RBI and one double. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. Alexa Norgard was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Rockford Auburn let Belvidere stack five runs on them in the fifth inning on Wednesday but luckily Rockford Auburn prevailed anyway. The Knights sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-5 win over the Bucs. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Knights have posted since May 22, 2024.
Maylee Baker was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Rockford Auburn let Ava Johnson and Lily Parr run wild. Johnson went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI, while Parr went 2-for-3 with three runs and one stolen base.
Rockford Auburn's win was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-3. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Belvidere North, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 8-8 record this season.
Belvidere North was able to grind out a solid win over Rockford Auburn when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 8-5. Will the Blue Thunder repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
