The Fenwick Friars will venture away from home to face off against the Loyola Academy Ramblers at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Fenwick has five straight wins, Loyola Academy has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Fenwick will bounce into Tuesday's contest after beating Providence Catholic, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Friars won by a run and slipped past the Celtics 6-5. Six seems to be a good number for the Friars as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Sofia Kateeb made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out six batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. Kateeb was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Bella Bigham, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Gabriella Simon, who went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Libertyville hit Loyola Academy with a six-run third inning on Saturday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Ramblers came up short against the Wildcats, falling 12-2.
Fenwick pushed their record up to 8-4 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for Loyola Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 6-13.
Loyola Academy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Fenwick hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .329. It's a different story for Loyola Academy, though, as they've only averaged .228. Will they be able to contain Fenwick's hitters?
Fenwick took their win against Loyola Academy in their previous meeting on Tuesday by a conclusive 6-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Friars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
