Gary West Side had lost 12 straight at home dating back to last season, but on Monday they dropped their record down to 0-4 to make it 13. They lost 21-1 to the Hammond Central Wolves. If the Cougars were looking for revenge after losing 20-6 to the Wolves when the teams met back in May of 2024, then they'll just have to keep looking.
As for Hammond Central, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-3-1. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games.
For Hammond Central's part, they got a great performance from Julian Santiago as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Santiago has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Elijah Lewis, who got on base in all five of his plate appearances with four runs, four RBI, and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of Hammond Central's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 4-1 (and 1-2-1 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Brandon Hilliard, who went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, two runs, and two doubles.
Coming up, Gary West Side will take on Hammond Morton at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The Cougars' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Governors have averaged an impressive 8.2 runs per game this season. As for Hammond Central, they will challenge Marquette Catholic at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The Blazers have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 10.25 runs per game on average), something the Wolves will no doubt try to take advantage of.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
