Lincoln-Way West is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Lemont is on a nine-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Warriors will host the Lemont HS at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Lincoln-Way West 2.7, Lemont 1.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Lincoln-Way West is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Lockport, who was ranked 18th at the time (Lincoln-Way West was ranked eighth). The Warriors walked away with a 6-1 win over the Porters on Friday.
Antony Vita spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Jackson Mansker and Carson Paulas did most of the damage at the plate: Mansker went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI, while Paulas went a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. Peyton Globke was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Lincoln-Way West always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lockport only posted an OBP of .174.
Meanwhile, Lemont won against Hinsdale Central on Wednesday with five runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. The Lemont HS came out on top against Blue Island Eisenhower by a score of 5-2. The victory continues a trend for the Lemont HS in their matchups with the Cardinals: they've now won nine in a row.
Lincoln-Way West is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Lemont, their victory bumped their record up to 21-3-1.
Everything went Lincoln-Way West's way against Lemont when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Lincoln-Way West made off with an 18-5 win. Do the Warriors have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Lemont HS turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
