Hanover Central has gone 9-1 against Kankakee Valley recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Wildcats will take on the Kougars at 10:00 a.m. Hanover Central will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
Hanover Central is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. Everything went their way against Illiana Christian as they made off with a 9-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won 13 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Matt Cook
| 05/29/25 vs Illiana Christian | 12 |
| 05/17/25 vs Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory | 8 |
| 05/12/25 vs Morgan Township | 7 |
| 05/22/25 vs Montini Catholic | 5 |
| 05/06/25 @ Munster | 5 |
Matt Cook tossed a big game, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. Those 12 strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Caiden Verrett, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April. Landon Sarkey was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Kankakee Valley was able to grind out a solid victory over Lowell on Thursday, taking the game 6-2. The Kougars haven't had any issues with the Red Devils recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Lucas Parker was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and one stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Rowan Kenning, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Kankakee Valley hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lowell struck out 11 times.
Hanover Central is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 13 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Kankakee Valley, their record now sits at 15-12-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Hanover Central hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Kankakee Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Hanover Central took their win against Kankakee Valley in their previous matchup back in April by a conclusive 6-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
