The Gardner-South Wilmington Panthers will challenge the Hinckley-Big Rock Royals at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Gardner-South Wilmington was handed a heart-breaking two-run defeat in their last matchup, but they sure didn't let that happen against Grant Park on Tuesday. The Panthers blew past the Dragons 12-4. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Panthers considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Cole Hampson
| 04/29/25 @ Grant Park | 3 |
| 04/21/25 vs Momence | 2 |
| 03/17/25 vs Earlville | 2 |
| 04/24/25 vs Clifton Central | 1 |
| 04/16/25 vs Iroquois West | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
Cole Hampson was incredible, going 4-for-5 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Gardner-South Wilmington is undefeated when Hampson posts two or more runs, but 2-9 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Cameron Gray, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Gardner-South Wilmington kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in May of 2024.
Meanwhile, Hinckley-Big Rock won against Hiawatha on Monday with 16 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. The Royals put the hurt on the Hawks with a sharp 16-1 win. The victory continues a trend for the Royals in their matchups with the Hawks: they've now won six in a row.
The win got Hinckley-Big Rock back to even at 9-9-1. As for Gardner-South Wilmington, their victory bumped their record up to 5-9.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
