The Iroquois West Raiders are taking a road trip to take on the Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Iroquois West is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game this season.
Iroquois West not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since April 29th (when they won 10-0). They blew past Beecher 9-2.
Rylan Pheifer
| 05/14/25 @ Beecher | 2 |
| 04/23/25 @ Dwight | 1 |
| 04/11/25 @ Oakwood | 1 |
| 04/01/25 vs Momence | 1 |
| 05/06/24 @ Salt Fork | 1 |
The team relied heavily on Rylan Pheifer, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Wyatt Breen also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
The home team had come away the winner the last four times Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond and Cerro Gordo/Bement had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Knights put the hurt on the Broncos with a sharp 17-3 victory on Thursday.
Maxton Boddy made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with four runs, three RBI, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond let Marcus Otto and Will Hilligoss run wild. Otto went 3-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and two RBI, while Hilligoss went 2-for-5 with one home run and seven RBI. Otto is becoming a predictor of Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 4-10 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Logan Schrock, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-10. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Iroquois West, their record now sits at 11-14.
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 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
