Baseball Recap: Thornton Fractional North Comes Up Short

Thornton Fractional North extended their losing streak to four on Friday, dropping their season record down to 5-24 in the process. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost a 12-10 heartbreaker at the hands of the East Chicago Central Cardinals. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Meteors have suffered against the Cardinals since April 18, 2015.

Jaleil Littleton

Runs Batted In

05/16/25 @ East Chicago Central	5
05/11/25 @ Thornridge	5
03/24/25 vs Hansberry	3
04/26/25 vs Rauner	2
04/11/25 vs Agricultural Science	1
+ 1 more games

Jaleil Littleton led a balanced group of hitters, going 1-for-4 with five RBI, one run, and one double. He has become a key player for Thornton Fractional North: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least three RBI, but 3-23 otherwise. Jermaine Henley was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI.

As for East Chicago Central, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-11 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.3 runs over those games.

On East Chicago Central's side, Victor Rivera was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Rivera has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.

In other batting news, Carlos Vasquez was excellent, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Looking ahead, Thornton Fractional North will head out on the road to square off against Hillcrest at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The Meteors are facing the Hawks at the right time seeing as the Hawks are stuck on an 11-game losing streak. As for East Chicago Central, they wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next game, a 16-11 win against Hammond Academy of Science & Tech on the 17th.