Baseball Preview: Wheeler Bearcats vs. Illiana Christian Vikings
The Wheeler Bearcats are on the road again on Saturday to play the Illiana Christian Vikings at 11:00 a.m. Wheeler is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.6 runs per game this season.
Wheeler is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 14-12 victory over South Central.
The team relied heavily on Braydon Prskalo, who scored three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Lucas McNamara, who scored three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, in what's become a running theme this season, Illiana Christian gave their fans yet another huge win on Monday. They were the clear victor by a 9-1 margin over North Newton. Winning may never get old, but Illiana Christian sure is getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Luke Smith was incredible, going 1-for-2 with a home run, a stolen base, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Aaron Gouwens, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with a home run.
Wheeler now has a winning record of 13-12. As for Illiana Christian, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-9 record this season.
Saturday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. Wheeler hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .315. However, it's not like Illiana Christian struggles in that department as they've averaged .328. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Wheeler suffered a grim 24-2 defeat to Illiana Christian when the teams last played back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Illiana Christian's Gavin Meyer, who struck out ten batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). Now that Wheeler knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
