The Vernon Hills Cougars are headed away from home for the first time to take on the Deerfield Warriors at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Vernon Hills is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game this season.
Vernon Hills was handed a heart-breaking two-run defeat in their last contest, but they sure didn't let that happen against Woodstock on Saturday. The Cougars were the clear victors by a 17-2 margin over the Blue Streaks. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Cougars considering their one-run performance the game before.
Ken Kim looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.

Connor Brockway
| 04/04/26 vs Woodstock | 6 |
| 04/22/25 vs Maine East | 3 |
| 05/06/25 vs Highland Park | 2 |
| 04/29/25 vs Niles West | 2 |
| 03/31/26 vs Palatine | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Connor Brockway, who fired off two home runs and six RBI while going 3-for-4. Those six RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kyle Kim, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Vernon Hills always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .567. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Woodstock only posted an OBP of .250.
Meanwhile, Deerfield was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a 7-4 hit to the loss column at the hands of DePaul College Prep.
The win was their first at home, bumping their record up to 3-1-1. As for Deerfield, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-4.
Vernon Hills came out on top in a nail-biter against Deerfield in their previous matchup back in May of 2025, sneaking past 3-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps