The Kankakee Valley Kougars will challenge the Lowell Red Devils at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Kankakee Valley easily dispatched Griffith on Wednesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Kougars fell just short of Twin Lakes by a score of 7-5 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Kougars have suffered since May 5th.
Kankakee Valley got a good showing from Owen Uylaki, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Uylaki has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in 13 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Kankakee Valley saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Alex Barr, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one double. Declan Murr was another, going 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Lowell entered their tilt with Wheeler on Saturday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They never let the Bearcats get on the board and left with a 10-0 victory. That's two games straight that the Red Devils have won by exactly ten runs.
Gavin Gutierrez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Gutierrez was even better at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Zack Smith looked comfortable as he tossed 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He is becoming a predictor of Lowell's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 4-2 (and 7-13-1 when he doesn't).
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Mason Brooker, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Camden Mikulich also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Lowell hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in three consecutive matchups.
Lowell pushed their record up to 11-15-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Kankakee Valley, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 14-12-1 record this season.
Kankakee Valley skirted past Lowell 3-2 when the teams last played two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Kougars since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
