vs
| 05/21/19 - Home | 16-0 W |
| 04/01/19 - Home | 18-2 W |
| 04/02/18 - Away | 17-0 W |
| 04/07/17 - Home | 27-0 W |
| 03/31/16 - Home | 20-0 W |
Lockport is a perfect 5-0 against Thornwood since March of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Porters will look to defend their home field against the Thunderbirds at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lockport has 12 straight victories, Thornwood has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Lockport is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Barrington, who was ranked 14th at the time (Lockport was ranked eighth). The Porters won by a run and slipped past the Fillies/Broncos 3-2.
Kelcie McGraw made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out seven batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 23 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI.
McGraw wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Rheanna Slavicek, who went 1-for-3 with one run.
Lockport hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least three batters in 12 consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Thornwood fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Bloom on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Blazing Trojan by a score of 16-14. Even if the Thunderbirds couldn't come away with the win, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their hitters, which had struggled int the games prior.
Ashley Phillips was cooking despite her team's loss, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with two triples, three runs, and one stolen base. Leah Jones was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Lockport's victory was their 13th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 26-9. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.4 runs over those games. As for Thornwood, their defeat dropped their record down to 18-9.
Both Lockport and Thornwood just can't seem to miss. The Porters have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.9 hits per game. However, it's not like Thornwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.9 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Lockport's way against Thornwood in their previous meeting back in May of 2019, as Lockport made off with a 16-0 victory. Do the Porters have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Thunderbirds turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
