Chicago Academy has been on the road for two straight, but on Thursday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Mather Rangers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Chicago Academy came up short against Steinmetz College Prep and fell 12-9.
Josh Casillas was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing six bases while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Dante Felix, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-5.
Even though they lost, Chicago Academy didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with nine strikeouts. This was only their 11th loss (out of 16 games) when they post five or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, everything went Mather's way against Disney II on Tuesday as Mather made off with a 10-4 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for Mather.
Jeriel Mejias and Jadier Castillo made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Mejias struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Castillo pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Mejias has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Mejias scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Castillo scored a run and stole five bases while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, J'Anthony Skerrett was incredible, going 1-for-3 with a home run, two stolen bases, and two runs. Roy Beard was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Chicago Academy has been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-14 record this season. As for Mather, their win bumped their record up to 11-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Chicago Academy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mather struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Chicago Academy couldn't quite finish off Mather in their previous matchup back in April and fell 9-7. Can Chicago Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
