The Illiana Christian Vikings will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against the North Newton Spartans at 4:30 p.m. Both teams have allowed few runs on average, (Illiana Christian: 2.2, North Newton: 1.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Illiana Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They never let Andrean onto the board and left with a 5-0 win.
Not much got past Mikayla Derks, who gave up just four hits to keep Andrean off the board. Derks has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Libby Kreykes, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Another player making a difference was Alyssa Mulder, who went 1-for-3 with a home run.
Meanwhile, North Newton put the finishing touches on their 12th blowout victory of the season on Friday. Everything went their way against Hammond Bishop Noll as North Newton made off with a 6-0 victory. Give North Newton's pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
The result came thanks to Sydney Rainford's shutout, as she gave up just four hits and racked up 11 Ks.
On the hitting side, Brynn Christenson was incredible, going 1-for-2 with a home run and a stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Summer Wynn, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Illiana Christian is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season. As for North Newton, their win bumped their record up to 19-3.
Saturday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Illiana Christian has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .439. However, it's not like North Newton struggles in that department as they've averaged .436. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Illiana Christian came out on top in a nail-biter against North Newton when the teams last played back in May of 2023, sneaking past 2-0. 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
