The Vernon Hills Cougars will head out on the road to face off against the Stevenson Patriots at 4:45 p.m. on Friday. Vernon Hills is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak.
On Thursday, Vernon Hills suffered a rough 9-2 loss at the hands of Niles West.
Connor Brockway was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Vernon Hills saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Colin McMurray, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Stevenson, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road on Monday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Lake Forest on Tuesday and snuck past 8-7.
Ben Fawcett looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits.
At the plate, Stevenson let Frank Costabile and Nick Rayyan loose on the outfield. Costabile went 2-for-4 with a home run, two stolen bases, and two runs, while Rayyan went 1-for-2 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. Aidan Crawley was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Vernon Hills' defeat dropped their record down to 3-15. As for Stevenson, they have been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season.
Vernon Hills suffered a grim 15-1 defeat to Stevenson in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Vernon Hills, Luca Morelli (who went 2-for-2 with a home run, five RBI, and two runs) 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
