Wilmington is 2-8 against Coal City since May of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Wilmington Wildcats will be playing in front of their home fans against the Coal City Coalers at 4:30 p.m. Wilmington will be looking to keep their seven-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
Wilmington proved they can win big on Wednesday (they won by nine) but on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They skirted past Beecher 5-3.
Reid Juster was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned run off two hits (he also only allowed one walk). Juster has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances. Juster was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other pitching news, Drew Jackson looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (he also only allowed one walk).
Juster wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jake Castle, who went 1-for-2 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Coal City fell victim to a rough 17-2 defeat at the hands of Morris on Saturday. Coal City has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Coal City saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lance Cuddy, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Wilmington's win bumped their record up to 9-1. As for Coal City, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Wilmington has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Coal City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Wilmington came out on top in a nail-biter against Coal City in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, sneaking past 7-6. Will Wilmington repeat their success, or does Coal City have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
