FREEPORT — The Rochelle Hub varsity baseball team teed off the 2024 season with a road game against Freeport on Saturday morning. Junior Ethan Goodwin went 2-for-3 on offense while throwing one and two-thirds of shutout relief as the Hubs fell to the Pretzels 8-0. Rochelle (0-1, 0-0 Interstate 8) will return home for a game against Genoa-Kingston on Monday.

A double from Cameron Verner led to a sacrifice fly from Payton Woker that gave Freeport a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Cooper Hathaway singled and scored on another Pretzel sacrifice fly, this time from Verner to put Freeport ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning. 

The Pretzels took a 3-0 lead after Noah Summers slapped a leadoff triple and scored on an RBI double from Hathaway in the bottom of the third inning. The Hubs managed just one hit over the first four frames, with sophomore Brode Metzger smacking a single in the top of the first inning. Rochelle put two runners on base in the top of the second inning, but the Hubs couldn’t score.

A sacrifice fly from Verner and an RBI single from Summers resulted in a 5-0 lead for Freeport in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Pretzels tallied three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring on two doubles as well as an error and a fielder’s choice. Junior Ethan Goodwin and senior Braden Behrens each singled for the Hubs in the top of the fifth inning, while junior Breydan Andrews drew a walk, but a tagout, a flyout and a groundout ended a promising Hub threat. 

Goodwin and Andrews each sent singles away in the top of the seventh inning, but Rochelle was once again unable to score, as a tagout on the bases sealed the win for the Pretzels.