vs
| 04/09/19 - Home | 2-13 L |
| 04/08/19 - Away | 5-10 L |
| 04/06/19 - Home | 4-5 L |
| 04/09/15 - Home | 9-0 W |
| 04/08/15 - Away | 14-3 W |
| 04/07/15 - Home | 9-0 W |
Bartlett and West Aurora are an even 3-3 against one another since April of 2015, but likely not for long. The Hawks will venture away from home to face off against the Blackhawks at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
St. Francis hit Bartlett with a five-run second inning on Saturday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Hawks fell 8-4 to the Spartans. The Hawks' loss signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Bartlett saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Vince Yario, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI. Austin Daubenmire also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, West Aurora had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.1 runs) and they went ahead and made it nine on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by an 11-1 margin over the Wildcats. While the Blackhawks didn't have the best season last year (they finished 12-19), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Henry Hinkle made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 1-for-1 with three RBI and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Oscar Alexander Jr., who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Jake Niedzwiedz, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
West Aurora was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as West Chicago only posted a batting average of .182.
West Aurora's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Bartlett, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-9-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bartlett has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like West Aurora struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Bartlett suffered a grim 13-2 defeat to West Aurora in their previous meeting back in April of 2019. Can the Hawks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
