Wilmington is a perfect 5-0 against Kankakee since April of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Wildcats will square off against the Kays at 4:30 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Wilmington barely beat Reed-Custer the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Wildcats' pitchers stepped up to hand the Comets a 9-0 shutout on Tuesday. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Comets recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Ryan Kettman and Kyle Farrell made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Kettman pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Farrell didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in May of 2024. At bat, Kettman scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-4, while Farrell scored a run while going 1-for-4. Farrell also put up a double, which was his first of the season.
Lucas Rink
| 04/01/25 @ Reed-Custer | 2 |
| 03/29/25 vs Clifton Central | 1 |
| 03/21/25 vs Prairie Central | 1 |
| 03/18/25 @ Minooka | 1 |
| 05/04/24 @ Shepard | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lucas Rink, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-3. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Shawn James also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Wilmington kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Kankakee, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They put the hurt on Thornton with a sharp 19-0 victory on Tuesday. The Kays' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Jacob Vinardi looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk).
On the hitting side, Kankakee let Jay'Den Jones and Bryce Deany run wild. Jones got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three RBI, one triple, and one run, while Deany scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Alexander Grill, who scored three runs while going 2-for-3.
The win got Wilmington back to even at 4-4. As for Kankakee, their record is now 2-5.
Wilmington was able to grind out a solid victory over Kankakee in their previous meeting back in March of 2023, winning 11-6. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Kays have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
