After a string of five wins, Crown Point's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell just short of the Illiana Christian Vikings by a score of 3-2. Crown Point was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Illiana Christian apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in May of 2023.
Paige Liezert was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she struck out 11 batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 11 consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Crown Point saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lexi Smith, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-5. Smith has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive pitching appearances.
Even though they lost, Crown Point didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 13 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Illiana Christian only tossed seven.
On Illiana Christian's side, Mikayla Derks spent all ten innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on seven hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, Maya Wondaal was incredible, getting on base in three of her five plate appearances with a home run, a stolen base, and two RBI.
Crown Point's defeat ended a six-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 21-6. As for Illiana Christian, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 18-3 record this season.
Crown Point does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Illiana Christian, they are on the road again on Saturday to play Bradley-Bourbonnais at 11:00 a.m. The timing isn't great for Bradley-Bourbonnais: they have been struggling with three straight losses at home, while Illiana Christian has snatched up four consecutive wins on the road.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
