Baseball Game Preview: Thornton Fractional South Red Wolves vs. Joliet Central Steelmen

The Thornton Fractional South Red Wolves will face off against the Joliet Central Steelmen at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Joliet Central took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Thornton Fractional South, who comes in off a win.

Having struggled with 11 defeats in a row, Thornton Fractional South turned things around against Whiting on Friday. They blew past the Oilers 10-0. The Red Wolves not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since April 12th (when they won 20-0).

The team relied heavily on Ryan Marnell, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Chris Rodriguez, who earned two runs and three stolen bases.

Meanwhile, Joliet Central was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their 16th straight loss. They lost 11-4 to Plainfield East.

Thornton Fractional South's victory bumped their record up to 5-17-1. As for Joliet Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-19.

Thornton Fractional South skirted past Joliet Central 5-4 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Red Wolves since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.