The Kankakee Valley Kougars will face off against the Hanover Central Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Kankakee Valley 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 won by a run and slipped past McCutcheon 10-9.
Mallorie Rose was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive appearances. She was even better at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Danielle Gidley, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. That home run was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Madalynn Hemphill, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hanover Central). Everything went their way against Kouts on Tuesday as they made off with an 18-3 win. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matchups by eight runs or more this season.
Claire Edgerton spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on four hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, Hanover Central let Adeline McMahon and Sienna Stilley run wild. McMahon got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three runs, one triple, and one stolen base, while Stilley went 1-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and one double. Those three runs gave Stilley a new career-high. Abbie Casten was another key player, going 3-for-5 with four RBI, two doubles, and one run.
Hanover Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .474. They are 9-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Hanover Central's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-8. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.3 runs over those games. As for Kankakee Valley, they now have a winning record of 11-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Kankakee Valley hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Hanover Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.3 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
