The Mundelein Mustangs will face off against the Lincoln-Way Central Knights at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Mundelein sitting on four straight victories and Lincoln-Way Central on 18.
18 must be Mundelein's lucky number: they beat Lake Forest with that score not once but twice on Thursday. The Mustangs beat the Scouts by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 18-1. The result was nothing new for the Mustangs, who have now won 13 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Sophia Zepeda made a big impact no matter where she played. She tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Zepeda was also big at the plate, going a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs and one RBI. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Claire Connelly, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April. Kieley Tomas was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Mundelein always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .793. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Lincoln-Way Central faced Lincoln-Way East in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Knights came out on top in a nail-biter against the Griffins, sneaking past 7-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Knights have posted against the Griffins since April 14, 2021.
Ellie McLaughlin was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Another player making a difference was Carly Karales, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Lincoln-Way Central pushed their record up to 29-1 with the victory, which was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.4 runs over those games. As for Mundelein, their record now sits at 20-8.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Mundelein hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Lincoln-Way Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
