The St. Charles East Fighting Saints will challenge the Wheaton North Falcons at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. St. Charles East will aim to continue their five-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
St. Charles East is returning to their home field after beating Glenbard North on theirs, despite the fact Glenbard North has dominated at home this season. The Fighting Saints walked away with a 14-10 victory over the Panthers on Monday. With that win, the Fighting Saints brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Makayla Van Dinther made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up five earned (and five unearned) runs off nine hits. Van Dinther was also big at the plate, getting three hits from her four at bats. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Addison Wolf, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Hayden Sujack, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double.
St. Charles East kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. They are a perfect 9-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, Wheaton North faced Oswego in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. The Falcons fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 14-12. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Falcons, who until this contest were averaging 3.38 runs allowed.
Reagan Crosthwaite was cooking despite her team's loss, firing off two home runs and four RBI while going 2-for-5. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last four times she's played. Makayla Hammer was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs.
St. Charles East has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-12 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.2 runs over those games. As for Wheaton North, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 17-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. St. Charles East hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Wheaton North struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.2 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
St. Charles East came up short against Wheaton North in their previous meeting back in April, falling 4-1. Will the Fighting Saints have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
