Baseball Recap: South Beloit Turns Things Around After Road Loss

Sobos

Margin (Wins)

05/05/26 vs Lincoln Academy	15
04/11/26 vs Christian Liberty	13
04/11/26 vs Christian Liberty	10
04/25/26 vs Alden-Hebron	8
05/08/26 @ River Ridge/Scales Mound	7

There's no place like home for South Beloit, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. Everything went their way against the Polo Marcos on Thursday as they made off with an 11-5 win. The result was nothing new for the Sobos, who have now won six contests by six runs or more so far this season.

JT Sanders and Zane Hagstrom were major factors no matter where they played. Throwing, Sanders tossed three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Meanwhile, Hagstrom pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Sanders also tossed no walks, which is notable because South Beloit is 2-1 when he allows at most two walks, but 7-9-1 otherwise. At bat, Sanders went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run, while Hagstrom went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most hits Hagstrom has posted since back in May of 2025.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Richard Carlson, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of South Beloit's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 7-2 (and 2-8-1 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Macen Peot, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and two RBI.

South Beloit lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. They are 2-1 when they post two or more home runs.

South Beloit pushed their record up to 9-10-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Polo, they are on a six-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-19.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming matchups. South Beloit will take on Ashton-Franklin Center at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. As for Polo, they will challenge Hiawatha at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The Hawks have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 12.95 runs per game on average), something the Marcos will no doubt try to take advantage of.