Softball Game Preview: Lowell Red Devils vs. Illiana Christian Vikings

The Lowell Red Devils will challenge the Illiana Christian Vikings at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Lowell 3.3, Illiana Christian 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Lowell is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Munster just ended the team's 11-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell 5-1 to the Mustangs.

Meanwhile, Illiana Christian got themselves on the board against Whiting on Tuesday, but Whiting never followed suit. They blew past the Oilers 10-0. The result was nothing new for the Vikings, who have now won six matchups by ten runs or more so far this season.

The team relied heavily on Lydia VanderWoude, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one triple. Another player making a difference was Lexy Miedema, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

Illiana Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .538. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Whiting only posted an OBP of .211.

Illiana Christian has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a massive bump to their 11-6 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Lowell, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-5.

Everything went Lowell's way against Illiana Christian in their previous matchup on Saturday, as Lowell made off with a 6-0 victory. Do the Red Devils have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vikings turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.