The Kankakee Valley Kougars will head out on the road to square off against the Benton Central Bison at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Kankakee Valley is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game this season.
Kankakee Valley will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Tuesday, then bounced right back against Merrillville on Friday. The Kougars put the hurt on the Pirates with a sharp 16-8 win. The victory continues a trend for the Kougars in their matchups with the Pirates: they've now won four in a row.
Luke Bayci
| 04/18/25 vs Merrillville | 3 |
| 04/12/25 vs Michigan City | 2 |
| 05/10/24 vs Washington Township | 2 |
| 05/06/24 vs Lowell | 2 |
| 05/17/24 vs La Porte | 1 |
Luke Bayci was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Kankakee Valley is 2-0-1 when Bayci allows one or fewer hits, but 1-4 otherwise. Bayci was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with three runs and one RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Kankakee Valley got a massive performance out of Jason Parker, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Declan Murr was another key player, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Meanwhile, Benton Central was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They lost 12-2 to Rossville. That's two games in a row now that the Bison have lost by exactly ten runs.
Kankakee Valley's record now sits at 3-4-1. As for Benton Central, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Kankakee Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Benton Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
