The Lockport Porters are taking a road trip to take on the Lincoln-Way West Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Lockport 4, Lincoln-Way West 2.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
If Lockport beats Lincoln-Way West with five runs on Friday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. The Porters came out on top in a nail-biter against Joliet Catholic on Thursday, sneaking past 5-3. Winning may never get old, but the Porters sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Matt Fox tossed a big game, pitching 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.
Justin VanderTuuk
| 05/08/25 vs Joliet Catholic | 2 |
| 05/07/25 vs Bradley-Bourbonnais | 1 |
| 05/05/25 @ Bradley-Bourbonnais | 1 |
| 04/30/25 vs Lincoln-Way Central | 1 |
| 04/24/25 @ Stagg | 1 |
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Justin VanderTuuk, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI. Those two hits gave him a new career-high. Logan Nagle was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Lincoln-Way West faced Andrew in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. The Warriors beat the Thunderbolts by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 4-1. The Warriors haven't had any issues with the Thunderbolts recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Ben Joynt looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, Conor Essenburg was excellent, going 1-for-6 with three RBI and one triple. Jackson Mansker also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Lincoln-Way West pushed their record up to 19-5 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Lockport, their record now sits at 16-8.
Lockport might still be hurting after the 10-4 defeat they got from Lincoln-Way West when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Porters avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
