Baseball Game Preview: Peotone Blue Devils vs. Hillcrest Hawks

The Peotone Blue Devils will square off against the Hillcrest Hawks at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Peotone will be strutting in after a win while Hillcrest will be coming in after a loss.

Peotone took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by an 11-1 margin over Horizon Science Academy McKinley Park. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Blue Devils' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.

Peotone let Tyler Leitelt and Andrew Barta run wild. Leitelt went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run, while Barta went 1-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those three RBI gave Barta a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ruben Velasco, who got on base in two of his three plate appearances with three stolen bases and one run.

Peotone always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .538. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Meanwhile, Hillcrest fell victim to Oak Lawn and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They came up short against the Spartans, falling 11-0. The Hawks haven't had much luck with the Spartans recently, as the team has come up short the last eight times they've met.

Peotone's victory bumped their record up to 7-13. As for Hillcrest, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-14.

Everything went Peotone's way against Hillcrest when the teams last played back in March of 2024, as Peotone made off with a 21-1 win. Will the Blue Devils repeat their success, or do the Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.