Baseball Game Preview: Manteno Panthers vs. Marian Catholic Spartans

The Manteno Panthers will take on the Marian Catholic Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Manteno is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.2 runs per game this season.

Manteno is returning to their home field after beating Herscher on theirs, despite the fact Herscher has dominated at home this season. The Panthers had just enough and edged out the Tigers 8-7 on Tuesday. The game was the first time the Panthers have beaten the Tigers on their field since May 9, 2023.

Braden Campbell

Batters Struck Out

05/06/25 @ Herscher	7
04/23/25 vs Oak Forest	1
04/16/25 @ Clifton Central	6
04/12/25 vs Tinley Park	5
04/03/25 @ Bloom	6
+ 2 more games

Braden Campbell was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up five earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

In other batting news, Jake Stevens was incredible, going 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.

Sandburg hit Marian Catholic with a five-run second inning on Monday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Spartans came up short against the Eagles, falling 10-2. The loss continues a trend for the Spartans in their meetings with the Eagles: they've now lost three in a row.

Marian Catholic also got a good showing from Tom Kooyenga, who pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those zero hits allowed gave Kooyenga a new career-low.

On the hitting side, Marian Catholic saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ernie Ayala, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run.

Manteno is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.2 runs over those games. As for Marian Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-15.