Baseball Game Preview: Thornwood Thunderbirds vs. Rich Township Raptors

For the second straight game, Thornwood will face off against Rich Township. The Thunderbirds will square off against the Raptors at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The last three games Thornwood has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last four times Thornwood and Rich Township have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Monday. The Thunderbirds narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Raptors 11-10.

Derrion Howard

Runs

04/11/25 @ Thornton	4
04/28/25 vs Rich Township	3
04/14/25 @ Kankakee	3
04/23/25 @ Argo	2
04/21/25 @ Thornton Fractional North	2
+ 5 more games

The team relied heavily on Derrion Howard, who got on base in all five of his plate appearances with six stolen bases, three runs, and one triple. Thornwood is undefeated when Howard posts two or more runs, but 3-6 otherwise. Hashim Vincent was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.

Thornwood was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .394. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Rich Township only posted a batting average of .258.

Rich Township has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-11 record this season. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the defeats came by an average of only 1.67 runs. As for Thornwood, their win bumped their record up to 10-6.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Thornwood has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 10.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Rich Township struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.