Lake Park and Conant are an even 3-3 against one another since May of 2015, but likely not for long. The Lake Park Lancers will be playing at home against the Conant Cougars at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday. Lake Park is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.
Lake Park is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: St. Charles North, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (Lake Park was ranked 15th). Lake Park fell just short of St. Charles North by a score of 3-1 on Wednesday. Lake Park's defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Lake Park saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was James Kelley, who went 2-for-3 with a triple and a run.
Meanwhile, Conant won against Romeoville on Saturday with seven runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. Conant narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Elk Grove 7-6. The victory was nothing new for Conant as they're now sitting on five straight.
Connor Kehoe looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Jake Parpet was incredible, going 1-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Matthew Maize, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Lake Park's loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 24-7. As for Conant, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matchups, which lines up perfectly with their 21-7 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lake Park has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Conant struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lake Park skirted past Conant 7-5 when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Does Lake Park have another victory up their sleeve, or will Conant turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
