Niles North hasn't had much luck against Niles West recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Vikings will look to defend their home field against the Wolves at 4:45 p.m. Niles North is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9 runs per game this season.
Vernon Hills hit Niles North with a four-run fifth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Vikings fell 7-4 to the Cougars.
Isla Kapellas
| 05/06/25 vs Vernon Hills | 1 |
| 05/03/25 @ Lake Forest | 0 |
| 04/29/25 vs Maine West | 1 |
Isla Kapellas was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over 4.1 innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one run.
Kapellas wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Analina Tumang, who went 2-for-4 with one run.
Meanwhile, Niles West had to endure a four-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They never let Maine East get on the board and left with a 12-0 win on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Wolves considering their one-run performance the game before.
Like Niles North, Niles West also got a great game from a two-way player: Penny Hutchison. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave Hutchison a new career-high. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Ava Kolbe was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Sarah Park, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and three runs.
Niles North's loss dropped their record down to 10-8. As for Niles West, their victory bumped their record up to 7-12.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
