The Lowell Red Devils will venture away from home to challenge the Chesterton Trojans at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Lowell is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Crown Point just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Wednesday. They took a 4-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Bulldogs. Having soared to a lofty 13 runs in the game before, the Red Devils couldn't push the score so high this time.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Chesterton made sure to put some runs up on the board against Merrillville on Tuesday. The Trojans blew past the Pirates 20-1. The Trojans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine contests by six runs or more this season.
Kaydence Ford and Ava Vagner made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Ford struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). Meanwhile, Vagner tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances. At bat, Ford got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and two RBI, while Vagner got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI Ford has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, Olivia Milton was incredible, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lexi Smith, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Chesterton lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Merrillville didn't launched any.
Chesterton has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. As for Lowell, their loss dropped their record down to 8-11.
Lowell was able to grind out a solid victory over Chesterton when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 5-2. Do the Red Devils have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Trojans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
