East Chicago Central has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Hammond Morton Governors at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. East Chicago Central is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.8 runs per game this season.
Last Wednesday, East Chicago Central fell victim to a tough 28-1 loss at the hands of Morgan Township. East Chicago Central has struggled against Morgan Township recently, as their match on Wednesday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
East Chicago Central saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Angel Segura, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, in what's become a running theme this season, Hammond Morton gave their fans yet another huge victory on Thursday. They blew past Lake Station Edison 13-7. The win made it back-to-back victories for Hammond Morton.
David Shreve and Billy Vukobratovich made a big impact while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Shreve struck out seven batters over 4.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and five unearned) runs off five hits. Meanwhile, Vukobratovich tossed 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. At the plate, Shreve scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-5, while Vukobratovich scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Niko Rodriguez was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Marcellous McQuay, who scored a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
East Chicago Central's defeat dropped their record down to 5-7. As for Hammond Morton, they now have a winning record of 7-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. East Chicago Central has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Hammond Morton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
East Chicago Central suffered a grim 24-5 defeat to Hammond Morton when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Thankfully for East Chicago Central, Ivan Gallegos (who struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
