The Huntley Red Raiders will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Lincoln-Way Central Knights at 5:00 p.m. Huntley is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.2 runs per game this season.
Huntley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Andrew, who was ranked sixth in their home state at the time (Huntley was ranked 19th). Huntley fell just short of Andrew by a score of 5-4 on Wednesday.
Gretchen Huber was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she struck out six batters over six innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in nine consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Alyssa Bonner led a balanced group of hitters, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI. Meghan Ryan was another key contributor, scoring a run while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Huntley hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Andrew struck out six times.
Meanwhile, Lincoln-Way Central had already won 14 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.9 runs), and they went ahead and made it 15 on Thursday. They came out on top against the Bulldogs by a score of 10-6. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Lincoln-Way Central considering their one-run performance the match before.
The team relied heavily on Alexis Youngren, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Ellie McLaughlin, who scored three runs while going 2-for-4.
Huntley's loss dropped their record down to 26-8. As for Lincoln-Way Central, they pushed their record up to 28-4 with that victory, which was their eighth straight on the road.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Huntley has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.1 hits per game. However, it's not like Lincoln-Way Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 3.9. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Huntley might still be hurting after the 7-1 defeat they got from Lincoln-Way Central in their previous meeting back in April of 2021. Thankfully for Huntley, Lyndsey Grein (who struck out 11 batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk)) 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
