Forest Park Rangers, Northeast Dubois Jeeps meet in county baseball rivalry game

Blake Burris was on 98.5 WQKZ just after 6:30 p.m. Friday, bringing Dubois County listeners a baseball rivalry that has taken on a life of its own beyond the box score. Forest Park and Northeast Dubois met at Northeast Dubois High School in Dubois, Indiana, in a non-conference varsity game that still carried county bragging rights and a familiar twist, the away team had won the previous four games in the series.

The night started earlier with a JV game at 5 p.m., then shifted to the varsity matchup that linked two schools separated by conference affiliation but tied together by the same county map. Northeast Dubois competes in the Blue Chip Conference, while Forest Park plays in the Pocket Athletic Conference, and that separation only sharpens the meaning when the Rangers and Jeeps line up against each other. WQKZ’s regular carry of Forest Park Ranger Athletics also gave the game a wider local reach, turning a spring baseball date in Dubois into something listeners could follow from across the county.

Northeast Dubois came in hot, riding a four-game winning streak after a 3-0 win over North Daviess on Thursday, April 16. Forest Park also arrived with momentum after its 11-10 win over Tell City on Tuesday, April 14, a sign that both teams were already tested in the early stretch of the season. Even without a conference chase attached, the matchup offered a clean snapshot of two programs trying to prove themselves in different ways.

The rivalry has been especially meaningful because both sides have recent history worth protecting. Northeast Dubois won the IHSAA Class 1A regional baseball title in 2025, its first regional championship since 2007. Forest Park’s recent run has been strong too, with the Rangers going 43-12 over two seasons and winning their first sectional title in two decades the year before. That kind of success raises the stakes every time these schools meet, because the game is no longer just about one April night.

In Dubois County, this is the kind of matchup that travels well on the radio and lingers after the last inning. The uniforms may belong to two different conferences, but the rivalry belongs to the county, and the series has lately favored whoever shows up from the road.