The Bremen Braves will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Oak Lawn Spartans at 4:30 p.m. The pair have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses apiece.
Bremen lost 12-2 to Thornton Fractional South on Wednesday.
Bremen saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Vince Webber, who went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Another player making a difference was Armando Aguilar, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Oak Lawn fell victim to Reavis and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 3-0 to the Rams, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.
Oak Lawn had to settle for second despite strong performances on the mound from Eli Kulpinski and Manny Rangel Kulpinski pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit, while Rangel tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Rangel has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive pitching appearances.
Bremen's defeat dropped their record down to 11-17. As for Oak Lawn, their loss dropped their record down to 12-14.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bremen has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oak Lawn struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Bremen might still be hurting after the 11-0 defeat they got from Oak Lawn in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Thankfully for Bremen, Cristian Ruiz (who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out seven over four innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
