The Lincoln Lions will challenge the Hilliard Bradley Jaguars at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The timing isn't great for Lincoln: they have been struggling with four straight losses at home, while Hilliard Bradley has snatched up four consecutive wins on the road.
Lincoln barely beat St. Charles the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Lions put the hurt on the Cardinals with a sharp 11-3 win on Thursday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Lions considering their one-run performance the match before.
Lincoln got a great performance from Isaiah Sweigard as he struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. That's the most strikeouts Sweigard has posted since back in April of 2024.
On the hitting side, Landon George was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Aidan Piatt, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Hilliard Bradley sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 victory over Bloom-Carroll on Thursday.
Logan Minamyer made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has become a key player for Hilliard Bradley: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most three hits, but 10-12 otherwise. Minamyer was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run.
Minamyer wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Bryan Nashalsky, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Hilliard Bradley has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 12-13 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.5 runs on average over those games. As for Lincoln, their victory bumped their record up to 8-14.
Lincoln couldn't quite get it done against Hilliard Bradley in their previous matchup on Saturday as they fell 8-5. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
