Spartans
| 05/23/25 vs Solorio | 17 |
| 05/20/25 @ Reavis | 1 |
| 05/19/25 vs Reavis | 7 |
| 05/16/25 vs Hancock | 10 |
| 05/15/25 @ Thornton Fractional North | 17 |
| + 28 more games |
The Oak Lawn Spartans will square off against the De La Salle Meteors at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Oak Lawn is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.5 runs per game this season.
Oak Lawn took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They put the hurt on Solorio with a sharp 17-7 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Spartans considering their one-run performance the game before.
Jack Westin looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up three earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Peyton Melnik, who went 3-for-5 with four RBI, one triple, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Jackson Hilger, who went 2-for-5 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Oak Lawn always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. They are a perfect 12-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, De La Salle had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They came out on top against the Bulldogs by a score of 4-1. That's two games straight that the Meteors have won by exactly three runs.
Beckett Hulten spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on six hits and racked up eight Ks. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because De La Salle is 4-2 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 8-19 otherwise.
At the plate, Oisin Curry was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Daniel Rocha, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Oak Lawn pushed their record up to 21-12 with the victory, which was their 12th straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for De La Salle, their victory bumped their record up to 12-21.
De La Salle's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Oak Lawn has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .472. It's a different story for De La Salle, though, as they've only averaged .362. Will they be able to contain Oak Lawn's hitters?
Oak Lawn came up short against De La Salle when the teams last played back in May of 2024, falling 9-4. Can the Spartans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
