Manteno is 8-2 against Wilmington since April of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Manteno Panthers will be playing at home against the Wilmington Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Manteno took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Beecher and snuck past 5-4.
Manteno let Josh Crane and Gannon Adamson loose on the outfield. Crane scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Adamson went 1-for-2 with a stolen base and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Jake Stevens, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Wilmington had already won 13 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.7 runs), and they went ahead and made it 14 on Wednesday. They never let the Blue Devils onto the board and left with a 5-0 victory.
Reid Juster was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Kettman, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2.
Manteno's win bumped their record up to 16-4. As for Wilmington, their victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 16-1.
Everything went Manteno's way against Wilmington in their previous meeting back in March of 2023 as Manteno made off with a 10-4 win. Does Manteno have another victory up their sleeve, or will Wilmington turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
