The Jacobs Eagles are taking a road trip to square off against the McHenry Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Jacobs is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game this season.
On Thursday, Jacobs came up short against Cary-Grove and fell 8-5. The defeat continues a trend for the Eagles in their meetings with the Trojans: they've now lost four in a row.
Audrey Wetzel was cooking despite her team's loss, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Talia Disilvio, who went 1-for-3 with two runs.
Meanwhile, McHenry got the win against Crystal Lake Central on Thursday by a conclusive 12-2. Considering the Warriors have won 12 contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Caitlyn Carlisle spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on four hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Natalie Bender, who fired off two home runs and seven RBI while going 2-for-4. Those seven RBI gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Charlee Cape, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, and one RBI.
McHenry was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .457. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .385 or higher in five consecutive matchups.
McHenry pushed their record up to 14-13 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Jacobs, their loss dropped their record down to 14-19.
Jacobs suffered a grim 17-4 defeat to McHenry when the teams last played on Tuesday. Can the Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.