Iroquois West is 0-3 against Oakwood since April of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Iroquois West Raiders will head out on the road to challenge the Oakwood Comets at 4:30 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Iroquois West will bounce into Monday's game after beating Gardner-South Wilmington, who they hadn't topped in five consecutive meetings. Iroquois West had just enough and edged Gardner-South Wilmington out 10-9.
Dean Clendenen was a standout: he scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Mario Andrade, who scored two runs while going 4-for-4.
Meanwhile, Oakwood beat Covington 7-4 on Tuesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Oakwood.
Dustin Hughes spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on eight hits.
At the plate, Derek Drews and Brody Taflinger did most of the damage at the plate: Drews scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Taflinger scored a run and stole two bases. Bryson Marcinko was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Iroquois West has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-13 record this season. As for Oakwood, they now have a winning record of 15-14.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Iroquois West has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oakwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Iroquois West might still be hurting after the 18-5 loss they got from Oakwood when the teams last played last Tuesday. Can Iroquois West avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
