The Illiana Christian Vikings will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Portage Indians at 5:00 p.m. The timing is sure in Illiana Christian's favor as the squad sits on five straight wins at home while Portage has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
In what's become a running theme this season, Illiana Christian gave their fans yet another huge victory on Monday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Hammond Bishop Noll a 10-0 shutout. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Illiana Christian considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
Gavin Meyer was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meyer was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three RBI, a triple, and a run.
In other pitching news, Armaan Sen looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Isaac VanderWoude, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, a triple, and a run. The team also got some help courtesy of Aaron Gouwens, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, Portage fell victim to Lake Central and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Indians.
Even though they lost, Portage didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 14 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Illiana Christian's win bumped their record up to 12-7. As for Portage, their loss dropped their record down to 9-11.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Illiana Christian has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Portage struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Illiana Christian took their victory against Portage when the teams last played back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 10-0. Will Illiana Christian repeat their success, or does Portage have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
