The Palatine Pirates will face off against the Wheeling Wildcats at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Palatine's favor as the squad sits on seven straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Wheeling has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
While Palatine didn't have the best season last year (they finished 14-19), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They walked away with a 9-5 victory over Conant on Wednesday.
Joe Riley was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Ian Sherman was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Riley wasn't the only one making solid contact: Palatine kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's a new trend for the Pirates: they were averaging 5.2 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 9.6.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Wheeling ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They skirted past Buffalo Grove 4-3. While the Wildcats didn't have the best season last year (they finished 10-22), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Palatine is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.8 runs on average over those games. As for Wheeling, their victory bumped their record up to 7-5.
Palatine took their win against Wheeling in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 8-2 score. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
