Baseball Game Preview: Niles North Vikings vs. Maine West Warriors

For the second straight game, Niles North will face off against Maine West. The Vikings will be playing in front of their home fans against the Warriors at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Niles North came out on top against Maine West on Tuesday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run seventh inning. The Vikings took their match against the Warriors 7-4. The victory continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now won four in a row.

For Maine West's part, Konrad Dudzik was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out eight batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). Dudzik has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Julian Delao was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Jake Mensching, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.

This is the second loss in a row for Maine West and nudges their season record down to 7-15. As for Niles North, their win bumped their record up to 10-15-1.