The Illiana Christian Vikings will be staying on the road on Monday to face off against the North Newton Spartans at 11:00 a.m. Both teams have allowed few runs on average, (Illiana Christian: 3.5, North Newton: 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Illiana Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Whiting a 5-0 shutout.
The result came thanks to Jake Scott's shutout, as he gave up just two hits and racked up 11 Ks.
At the plate, Illiana Christian saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tanner Post, who went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run.
Meanwhile, North Newton stacked a ninth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Saturday. Everything went their way against Lake Station Edison as North Newton made off with a 12-2 win. The victory was familiar territory for North Newton who now have five in a row.
Collin Williams made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Williams has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances. Williams was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Patrick Barry, who went 4-for-4 with four stolen bases, four runs, and five RBI. Evan Gagnon was another key contributor, scoring four runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Illiana Christian has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 17-9 record this season. As for North Newton, their win bumped their record up to 17-5.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Illiana Christian has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like North Newton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Illiana Christian's way against North Newton in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 as Illiana Christian made off with a 16-0 victory. Does Illiana Christian have another victory up their sleeve, or will North Newton turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
