Baseball Game Preview: Kennedy Crusaders vs. Oak Lawn Spartans

The Kennedy Crusaders will take on the Oak Lawn Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Kennedy will be looking to extend their current 11-game winning streak.

Kennedy barely beat Hyde Park the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Crusaders put the hurt on the Thunderbirds with a sharp 9-0 victory on Monday. The Crusaders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 matchups by six runs or more this season.

Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Oak Lawn ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Oak Forest 3-1. The game was the first time the Spartans have beaten the Bengals on their field since April 25, 2018.

John Olejniczak made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one triple and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April.

In other batting news, Peyton Melnik was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI.

Kennedy's victory was their tenth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-7. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.1 runs over those games. As for Oak Lawn, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-11 record this season.