Kouts is 0-4 against Kankakee Valley since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Kouts Mustangs & Fillies will look to defend their home field against the Kankakee Valley Kougars at 4:30 p.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Wednesday, Kouts beat Tri-Township 8-4.
The team relied heavily on Jesse Overholt, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Landon Garrett was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Kankakee Valley came into Wednesday's game having lost four straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They came out on top against Highland by a score of 8-3 on Wednesday.
Spencer Childers made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Childers was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Zach Eggers was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 4-for-5. Another player making a difference was Tyler Smolek, who went 1-for-5 with three RBI and a stolen base.
Kouts' win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 10-5-1. As for Kankakee Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 3-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Kouts has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Kankakee Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Kouts suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Kankakee Valley in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Thankfully for Kouts, Dylan Holmes (who kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over five innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
