The Fulton Steamers are taking a road trip to square off against the Alleman Pioneers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Fulton proved they can win big on Wednesday (they won by 15) and on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past East Dubuque 8-7.
Meanwhile, Alleman waltzed into their game on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Storm 11-1. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Pioneers considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Cael Kuster made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played.
In other batting news, Will Bowers was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and one stolen base. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Awbrey, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Alleman always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .621. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Fulton's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-11. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for Alleman, their record now sits at 21-8.
Fulton was able to grind out a solid win over Alleman when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 5-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Steamers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
