Kankakee Valley and Washington Township are an even 4-4 against one another since May of 2015, but likely not for long. The Kougars will face off against the Senators at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Kankakee Valley will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
On Tuesday, Kankakee Valley needed a bit of extra time to put away Lowell. They had just enough and edged out the Red Devils 3-2.
Dylan Wireman
| 05/13/25 vs Lowell | 9 |
| 04/29/25 vs Hobart | 8 |
| 04/14/25 vs Andrean | 5 |
| 04/08/25 @ Hanover Central | 5 |
| 05/06/25 vs Highland | 4 |
Dylan Wireman tossed a big game, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Rowan Kenning, who went 3-for-4 with one run and one double. Kankakee Valley is undefeated when Kenning posts three or more hits, but 8-9-1 otherwise. Declan Murr was another key player, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Washington Township). They never let Whiting get on the board and left with a 23-0 win on Thursday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Senators considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
Connor Parks was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Kukler, who went 2-for-3 with four runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Washington Township always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .550. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The victory made it two in a row for Washington Township and bumps their season record up to 9-5-2. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 1 runs in those games. As for Kankakee Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 11-9-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Kankakee Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Washington Township struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Kankakee Valley beat Washington Township 8-5 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Kougars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
