The Lincoln-Way West Warriors will square off against the Lockport Porters at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Lincoln-Way West comes in on five and Lockport on three.
Lincoln-Way West is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Andrew, who was ranked 15th at the time (Lincoln-Way West was ranked eighth). The Warriors beat the Thunderbolts on Wednesday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 4-1.
Ben Joynt looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Conor Essenburg, who went 1-for-6 with three RBI and one triple. Jackson Mansker also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Meanwhile, Lockport sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-3 win over Joliet Catholic on Thursday.
Matt Fox tossed a big game, tossing 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Justin VanderTuuk was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI. Logan Nagle was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Lincoln-Way West's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-5. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Lockport, their victory bumped their record up to 16-8.
Lincoln-Way West took their win against Lockport when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 10-4 score. Will the Warriors repeat their success, or do the Porters have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
