With a playoff win on the line, Hanover Central rose to the challenge on Saturday. They had just enough and edged out the Western Panthers 2-1. The Wildcats have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Panthers, too.
Jillian Deyoung was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 13 over nine innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one home run.
Deyoung wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Brooklyn Oostman, who went 1-for-4 with one triple and one RBI.
Wildcats
| 06/07/25 vs Western | 2-1 |
| 06/07/25 vs Columbia City | 5-0 |
| 06/03/25 vs Highland | 5-1 |
| 05/30/25 vs Lowell | 6-2 |
| 05/29/25 vs Kankakee Valley | 6-0 |
| + 2 more games |
The victory was the seventh in a row for Hanover Central, bringing their record up to 18-12. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Western, they moved to 28-4 with that defeat, which also ended their 15-game winning streak.
Coming up, Hanover Central will take on Cathedral at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Fighting Irish's pitching crew has only allowed 2.6 runs per game this season, so the Wildcats' hitters will have their work cut out for them. Western does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
