Baseball Preview: Oak Forest Bengals vs. Wheaton Academy Warriors
The Oak Forest Bengals will head out on the road to face off against the Wheaton Academy Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Oak Forest: 2.6, Wheaton Academy: 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Oak Forest took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They came out on top against Thornton Fractional South by a score of 5-1.
Justin Gibbs made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Gibbs has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive pitching appearances. Gibbs was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Mateo Gamboa, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Andrew Lucas, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Wheaton Academy waltzed into their match on Wednesday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They walked away with a 10-5 win over the Spartans. Ten seems to be a good number for Wheaton Academy as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Nate Burden looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jacob York, who went 1-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI. Brandon Kiebles was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Oak Forest pushed their record up to 24-6 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Wheaton Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 25-3.
Thursday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Oak Forest has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .443. However, it's not like Wheaton Academy struggles in that department as they've averaged .449. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
