Deerfield hit Vernon Hills with a five-run fifth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Cougars fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 5-4. The Cougars were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Warriors apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in May of 2025.
Ken Kim
| 04/10/26 vs Deerfield | 2 |
| 04/04/26 vs Woodstock | 0 |
| 03/23/26 vs Varsity Opponent | 2 |
Ken Kim was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out six over 4.1 innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Devin Ratajczak made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 1-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. That triple was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of AJ Soto, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
This is the second loss in a row for Vernon Hills and nudges their season record down to 4-3-1. Even worse, they were so close both times: the defeats came by an average of only 1.5 runs. As for Deerfield, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-6.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Vernon Hills will take on Lake Forest at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Cougars 2.9, the Scouts 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned. As for Deerfield, they will face off against Prairie Ridge at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The Wolves' pitching crew has only allowed 2.2 runs per game this season, so the Warriors' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
