Kankakee hasn't had much luck against Wilmington recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Kays are taking a road trip to challenge the Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Thursday.
Wilmington will be up against a hot Kankakee squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. The Kays blew past Thornridge 12-2 on Wednesday.
Alexander Grill was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Grill was also big at the plate, going a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs. He is becoming a predictor of Kankakee's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 5-13 when he doesn't).
Byron Wills
| 03/26/25 vs Thornton | 3 |
| 05/07/25 vs Thornridge | 2 |
| 04/30/25 vs Bloom | 2 |
| 04/29/25 @ Bloom | 2 |
| 04/16/25 @ Thornwood | 2 |
| + 6 more games |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Byron Wills, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. Kankakee is 4-2 when Wills posts two or more runs, but 4-12 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryce Deany, who got on base in both of his plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs.
Kankakee always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .682. The last time their OBP was this high was back in May of 2024.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Wilmington). They never let Peotone get on the board and left with a 14-0 victory on Tuesday. The Wildcats have beaten the Blue Devils the last nine times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Blue Devils has come to flipping the script.
Ryan Kettman made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Wilmington got a massive performance out of Lucas Rink, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most RBI Rink has posted since back in May of 2024. Cooper Holman also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Wilmington pushed their record up to 16-7 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.2 runs on average over those games. As for Kankakee, their record is now 8-14.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Kankakee has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Wilmington struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Kankakee couldn't quite get it done against Wilmington in their previous meeting back in March of 2023 as they fell 11-6. Can the Kays avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
