Baseball Preview: Oak Forest Bengals vs. Oak Lawn Spartans
The Oak Forest Bengals will head out on the road to face off against the Oak Lawn Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Oak Lawn is hoping to do on Friday what Argo couldn't on Wednesday: put an end to Oak Forest's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Oak Forest never let Argo onto the board and left with a 14-0 win.
Justin Gibbs was a major factor no matter where he played. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Gibbs has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive pitching appearances. Gibbs was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Ashton Janowski looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Andrew Lucas, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Mateo Gamboa, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Oak Lawn can finally bid farewell to their three-game losing streak thanks to their game on Thursday. They put the hurt on Bremen with a sharp 11-1 victory. The high-scoring effort was just what Oak Lawn needed considering they were shutout in their previous contest.
John Olejniczak tossed a big game, striking out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
On the hitting side, Justin Canvin and Ivan Gonzalez did most of the damage at the plate: Canvin went 2-for-2 with two RBI and a double, while Gonzalez scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Ethan Collins was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
Oak Forest is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 26-6 record this season. As for Oak Lawn, their record is now 13-14.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Oak Forest has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oak Lawn struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Oak Forest took their win against Oak Lawn in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 14-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Oak Forest since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
