The Lockport Porters will take on the Lyons Lions in a tournament on Friday.
The home team had come away the winner the last six times Lockport and Lincoln-Way Central had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Porters fell just short of the Knights by a score of 3-2 on Wednesday. That's two games in a row now that the Porters have lost by just one run.
Lockport got a good showing from Jeffrey Bruining, who pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Bruining has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
Meanwhile, Lyons came tearing into Thursday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Panthers a 13-0 shutout. Considering the Lions have won 11 matchups by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Dylan Justinich looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Lou Ratcliffe and Blake Ragsdale did most of the damage at the plate: Ratcliffe went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run, while Ragsdale went 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases Ragsdale has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Tommy Georgelos, who went 1-for-2 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Lyons hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in three consecutive games.
Lockport's defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-7. As for Lyons, their victory bumped their record up to 15-4.
Lockport was able to grind out a solid win over Lyons in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, winning 7-3. Will the Porters repeat their success, or do the Lions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
