Thrillbillies look to right the ship in second half
MARION - The Thrillville Thrillbillies dug themselves into a hole early in the first half of the 2026 season. A streak of seven losses in eight games from June 7 through June 16 put them out of reach of a playoff spot by the time they finished the month winning five of eight.
Things seemed to be trending up, but another brutal stretch has led Thrillville to fall to 2-8 in the second half. The Billies played their first two games of the second half at home before playing eight games in a row on the road, losing seven.
However, Thrillville has been competitive in many of those losses. The Thrillbillies fell 9-7 at Terre Haute (Indiana), 3-1 at Kokomo (Indiana), 9-8 at O'Fallon, and 3-2 at Jackson (Tennessee).
"I think the guys finally got the experience they needed, and we started playing better baseball and put more complete games together," said manager Josh Foreman about the end of the first half. "Even here in the second half, we're playing better baseball, but we're not quite winning as many as we want."
The theme for the road stretch was that Thrillville always seemed to miss one or two things to come away with a win. Whether that was needing a clutch hit or a big performance from a relief pitcher, something doomed the Billies in each loss.
"We left 12 guys on base at Kokomo. We've had our chances, and we've been right there in each one of them," Foreman said. "We're just not getting the one thing we need to finish them off."
Playing on the road for eight straight games proved challenging in its own right. The only reprieve the players got was a five-day period for the All-Star break.
"Bouncing from hotel to hotel, and meeting new guys just about every day because other players are finishing their contracts and going home, it's hard," said Hayden Ralls, who was one of three All-Stars along with Fredrick Ragsdale III and Klayton Wright.
"We've had a couple games where everything has clocked, but we just have to have each other's backs a little bit more. Hitters have to put up more runs when our pitchers are dealing, and the other way around."
Foreman said the big thing is that the losses haven't come from a lack of effort, and each player is still going into each game ready to compete.
"They understand that this is baseball and not every day is going to go the way we want," he said. "They really want to succeed and win. They're putting at-bats together as a team and pitching in a way that gives us a chance to win. When the losses happen, we just didn't get it done together."
Ralls will be with the team the rest of the season. He said one quality win might be all it takes for Thrillville to fire up the engine and start fighting for a playoff spot.
"We lost a lot of close games, and it felt like there was so much pressure on us to win because of it," he said. "Once we finally get one and things start clicking, we can get on a streak going the other way."
The Thrillbillies will have to do an abundance of winning if they do want a chance to play past their regular-season finale on August 1. As of Monday night, O'Fallon holds onto the second playoff spot in the South Division of the Western Conference at 8-4.
The Cape Catfish, who locked their playoff spot by winning the division in the first half, are 13-0 and on a 14-game winning streak.
The Jackson Rockabillys sit at 7-6, while the Alton River Dragons are 1-12.
"Every game is important from here on out," Foreman said. "We can't wait to try and make a push too late where we have to win every game. The sooner we can get on a roll, the better."
Thrillville will play its ninth straight road game at Alton Tuesday before home games against Dubois County Wednesday, Decatur Thursday, and Springfield Friday. All three home games are slated for 7 p.m.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.