Baseball Recap: Kankakee Valley Comes Up Short

Kankakee Valley had lost three straight on the road, but on Thursday they dropped down to 9-12 to make it four. They lost 9-1 to the Wheeler Bearcats. The Kougars were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Bearcats apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in May of 2019.

Hunter Munoz was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.

As for Wheeler, they are on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 13 games. That's provided a massive bump to their 14-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.9 runs on average over those games.

On Wheeler's side, David Lindlow made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out 13 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk). Those 13 strikeouts gave Lindlow a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.

In other batting news, Wheeler let Tyler Hughes and Keegan Kuehl run wild. Hughes went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double, while Kuehl went 1-for-2 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Hughes is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged two or more in each of the last five games he's played. Vincent Tattini was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Kankakee Valley will square off against River Forest at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Kougars' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Ingots have averaged an impressive 7.7 runs per game this season. As for Wheeler, they will challenge Hobart at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.