Baseball Game Preview: Kankakee Valley Kougars vs. Benton Central Bison

The Kankakee Valley Kougars will square off against the Benton Central Bison at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

Munster hit Kankakee Valley with a eight-run first inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Kougars lost 13-3 to the Mustangs. The defeat continues a trend for the Kougars in their meetings with the Mustangs: they've now lost seven in a row.

Kankakee Valley saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jake Fitzpatrick, who went 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Keaton Wagner was another, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one double and one RBI.

Harrison hit Benton Central with a five-run second inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Bison came up short against the Raiders, falling 12-2.

Mason Schutter was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-2 with one home run. He has become a key player for Benton Central: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least one home run, but 5-15 otherwise.

Benton Central's loss dropped their record down to 7-16. As for Kankakee Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-14.

Kankakee Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against Benton Central in their previous matchup back in May of 2025, sneaking past 8-7. Will the Kougars repeat their success, or do the Bison have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.