The North Newton Spartans will square off against the Illiana Christian Vikings at 11:00 a.m. on Monday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as North Newton comes in on five and Illiana Christian on three.
North Newton is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They blew past Lake Station Edison 12-2. Considering North Newton has won nine matches by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Collin Williams was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Williams has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances. Williams was also solid in the batter's box, 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.
Meanwhile, Illiana Christian owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Saturday. They walked away with a 5-0 victory over Whiting.
Not much got past Jake Scott, who gave up just two hits and racked up 11 Ks to keep Whiting off the board.
At the plate, Illiana Christian's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Tanner Post, who went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run.
North Newton's record now sits at 17-5. As for Illiana Christian, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-9 record this season.
Both the pair just can't seem to miss. North Newton has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.7 hits per game. However, it's not like Illiana Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.8. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
North Newton might still be hurting after the 16-0 loss they got from Illiana Christian when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Can North Newton avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
