The Evanston Wildkits will challenge the Whitney Young Dolphins at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Evanston will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Tuesday, then bounced right back against Maine East on Thursday. The Wildkits were the clear victors by a 24-7 margin over the Blue Demons. The Wildkits haven't had any issues with the Blue Demons recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Evanston got a massive performance out of Madison Ball, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Maddie Berry was another key player, going a perfect 5-for-5 with three runs, three doubles, and four RBI.
Ball wasn't the only one working in the home run department: Evanston lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Whitney Young). They blew past Niles West 17-9 on Thursday. Winning may never get old, but the Dolphins sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Claire Swanborn made a splash no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Swanborn was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Natalie Nieves, who went 4-for-5 with five RBI, three runs, and two doubles. Those three runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Itzel Jaime, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of her five plate appearances.
Evanston's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Whitney Young, they now have a winning record of 5-4-1.
Evanston came out on top in a nail-biter against Whitney Young in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. Do the Wildkits have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Dolphins turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
