Niles West has gone 9-1 against Niles North recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Wolves will head out to challenge the Vikings at 4:45 p.m. Niles West will be strutting in after a victory while Niles North will be coming in after a defeat.
Niles West was handed a heart-breaking two-run loss in their last contest, but they sure didn't let that happen against Maine East on Tuesday. The Wolves put the hurt on the Blue Demons with a sharp 12-0 win. The Wolves haven't had any issues with the Blue Demons recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive victory against them.
Penny Hutchison
| 05/06/25 @ Maine East | 11 |
| 04/19/25 vs Oak Lawn | 9 |
| 04/01/25 @ New Trier | 4 |
| 04/05/25 vs Glenbrook North | 3 |
| 04/30/25 @ Antioch | 2 |
Penny Hutchison made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Niles West got a massive performance out of Ava Kolbe, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Sarah Park was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and three runs.
Vernon Hills hit Niles North with a four-run fifth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Vikings fell 7-4 to the Cougars.
Like Niles West, Niles North also got a great game from a two-way player: Isla Kapellas. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over 4.1 innings pitched. Kapellas has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one run.
Kapellas wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Analina Tumang, who went 2-for-4 with one run.
Niles North's defeat dropped their record down to 10-8. As for Niles West, they picked up their first road win, bumping their record up to 7-12.
Niles West skirted past Niles North 5-4 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for the 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.
