The Hancock Eagles will square off against the Oak Lawn Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Hancock comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
Hancock fell victim to Taft and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They came up short against Taft, falling 13-0. The shutout was out of character for Hancock seeing as the last time the team failed to score was back in March.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Oak Lawn). Everything went their way against Thornton Fractional South on Thursday as they made off with a 22-1 win. With that victory, the Spartans brought their scoring average up to 6.4 runs per game.
Aleksandria Blanco made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Blanco was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBI and one run. That's the most hits she has posted over her last nine games.
In other batting news, Danielle Dempsey was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted over her last 11 matchups. Zoe Lepe was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one home run and three RBI.
Oak Lawn was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .724. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Oak Lawn's win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-9. As for Hancock, their loss dropped their record down to 0-10.
Hancock's speedy runners might be the difference in Friday's contest. The Eagles have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Oak Lawn, though, as they've been averaging only 1.4 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Hancock continue to outrun the ball?
Hancock might still be hurting after the 11-2 defeat they got from Oak Lawn when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will the Eagles have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
