The Rock Island Rocks will head out to take on the Minooka Indians at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Rock Island sitting on three straight wins and Minooka on four.
Rock Island can't be too worried about heading out to take on Minooka: they just beat Geneseo at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. The Rocks sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-5 victory over the Maple Leafs on Thursday. That's two games straight that the Rocks have won by just one run.
Lilly McDaniel
| 05/08/25 @ Geneseo | 9 |
| 05/02/25 vs Neuqua Valley | 6 |
| 04/29/25 vs Sterling | 4 |
| 04/23/25 vs Orion | 7 |
| 04/19/25 vs Metamora | 5 |
| 04/17/25 vs Quincy | 15 |
Lilly McDaniel made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. That's the most strikeouts she has posted over her last six contests. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, AJ Lincoln was incredible, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. A'Rion Lonergan was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last four times Minooka and Plainfield East have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Thursday. The Indians blew past the Bengals 8-1. The Indians might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten games by seven runs or more this season.
Emma Best looked comfortable as she pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 15 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Gracie Anderson, who went 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Olivia Boyd, who went 1-for-3 with two runs.
Minooka kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive matches.
Minooka's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-8. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Rock Island, their record is now 18-8.
Minooka's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Rock Island has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Minooka, though, as they've been averaging only 4.1 strikeouts. Will Rock Island keep running through batters, or will the Indians buck the trend?
Rock Island couldn't quite finish off Minooka in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 and fell 2-0. Can the Rocks avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
