The Benton Central Bison will face off against the Kankakee Valley Kougars at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Benton Central has given up an average of 11.4 runs per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Benton Central is headed into Saturday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fourth straight game on Friday. They came up short against Rossville, falling 12-2. That's two games in a row now that the Bison have lost by exactly ten runs.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Kankakee Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Merrillville on Friday as they made off with a 16-8 win. With that victory, the Kougars brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Luke Bayci made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Kankakee Valley is 2-0-1 when Bayci allows one or fewer hits, but 1-4 otherwise. Bayci was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with three runs and one RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Kankakee Valley got a massive performance out of Jason Parker, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Another player making a difference was Declan Murr, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Benton Central's loss dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Kankakee Valley, their win bumped their record up to 3-4-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Benton Central has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Kankakee Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
