Baseball Game Preview: Lincoln-Way Central Knights vs. Thornton Fractional South Red Wolves

The Lincoln-Way Central Knights will square off against the Thornton Fractional South Red Wolves at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Lincoln-Way Central will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.

Lincoln-Way Central is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Hanover Central, who was ranked 11th in their home state at the time (Lincoln-Way Central was ranked 17th). The Knights had just enough and edged out the Wildcats 5-3.

Thornton Fractional South never got on the board in their matchup on Thursday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Rich Township on Friday. They put the hurt on the Raptors with a sharp 13-6 victory. The win continues a trend for the Red Wolves in their matchups with the Raptors: they've now won six in a row.

Juan Lozano was a major factor no matter where he played. He pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Thornton Fractional South is 4-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 9-18-2 otherwise. Lozano was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.

In other batting news, Abe Serna was incredible, going a perfect 5-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Chris Rodriguez was another key player, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and one double.

Thornton Fractional South always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Lincoln-Way Central's record is now 19-10. As for Thornton Fractional South, their record now sits at 13-20-2.