After two games on the road, Oak Lawn is heading back home. They will take on the Oak Forest Bengals at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Oak Lawn headed into their last contest having not scored more than two runs for three straight, but Bremen let them put that streak behind them. Oak Lawn was the clear victor by an 11-1 margin over Bremen on Thursday. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for Oak Lawn's hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Oak Lawn got a great performance from John Olejniczak as he struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Olejniczak has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in ten consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Oak Lawn let Justin Canvin and Ivan Gonzalez loose on the outfield. Canvin went 2-for-2 with two RBI and a double, while Gonzalez scored two runs while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Collins, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Oak Forest had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 2.5 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They never let the Argonauts onto the board and left with a 14-0 win.
Justin Gibbs made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Gibbs was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Ashton Janowski looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Andrew Lucas, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Mateo Gamboa was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
Oak Lawn's victory bumped their record up to 13-14. As for Oak Forest, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 26-6 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Oak Lawn has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oak Forest struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Oak Lawn suffered a grim 14-4 defeat to Oak Forest in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Will Oak Lawn have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
