The Hersey Huskies will challenge the Mundelein Mustangs at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Hersey 3.1, Mundelein 3.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Hersey is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Fremd, who was ranked eighth at the time (Hersey was ranked 15th). The Huskies fell 6-3 to the Vikings on Friday. That makes it the first time this season the Huskies have let down their home crowd.
Wyatt Groberski made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Brady Klehr, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Mundelein ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Libertyville 6-5. Surprisingly, this marked the Mustangs' fifth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Joey Kafka tossed a big game, pitching 5.1 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Johnny Weiss, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and three runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March. Caden Earing was another key player, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and one double.
Mundelein has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4-2 record this season. As for Hersey, their defeat dropped their record down to 14-3-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hersey has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mundelein struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hersey came out on top in a nail-biter against Mundelein in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. Will the Huskies repeat their success, or do the Mustangs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
