Baseball Game Preview: Kankakee Valley Kougars vs. Lowell Red Devils

The Kankakee Valley Kougars will challenge the Lowell Red Devils at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

Kankakee Valley is headed into Wednesday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fourth straight games on Saturday. They came up short against Hebron, falling 12-6.

Will Chestnut

Hits Against

05/14/26 @ Wheeler	6
05/05/26 vs Highland	5
04/28/26 vs Hobart	4
04/24/26 @ McCutcheon	4
04/06/26 vs Hanover Central	4
+ 1 more games

Will Chestnut put in work while hitting and pitching. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has become a key player for Kankakee Valley: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one hit, but 9-15 otherwise. Chestnut was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.

Chestnut wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Declan Murr, who went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Murr is becoming a predictor of Kankakee Valley's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 3-1 (and 8-15 when he doesn't). Another was Zack Mikash, who earned one run and three stolen bases.

Meanwhile, Lowell suffered their biggest loss since April 28th on Friday. They lost 13-4 to Crown Point. The defeat continues a trend for the Red Devils in their meetings with the Bulldogs: they've now lost nine in a row.

Kankakee Valley's loss dropped their record down to 11-16. As for Lowell, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-13.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Kankakee Valley has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lowell struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Kankakee Valley came up short against Lowell in their previous meeting two weeks ago, falling 3-0. Can the Kougars avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.