Baseball Game Preview: Morgan Park Mustangs vs. Thornwood Thunderbirds

The Morgan Park Mustangs will head out on the road to square off against the Thornwood Thunderbirds at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Morgan Park not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since April 19, 2024 (when they won 12-2). Their pitchers stepped up to hand Brooks a 10-0 shutout.

Meanwhile, Thornwood narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Argo 7-5. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Thunderbirds.

Kordae Montgomery made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 5.1 innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one double.

In other batting news, Thornwood let Derrion Howard and Emmanuel Pozo run wild. Howard went 2-for-4 with four stolen bases and two runs, while Pozo got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Howard has become a key player for Thornwood: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-5 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Hashim Vincent, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI and one double.

Thornwood's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-5. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Morgan Park, their record is now 7-4-2.

Morgan Park came out on top in a nail-biter against Thornwood when the teams last played back in March of 2023, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mustangs since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.