For the second straight game, Thornwood will face off against Crete-Monee. The Thunderbirds will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Warriors at 4:30 p.m.
On Wednesday, Thornwood came up short against Crete-Monee and fell 9-5. The loss continues a trend for the Thunderbirds in their meetings with the Warriors: they've now lost eight in a row.
For Crete-Monee's part, Bren Milburn made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. That's the most strikeouts Milburn has posted over his last three contests. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. Crete-Monee is 9-1 when Milburn posts two or more runs, but 5-9 otherwise.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Keyshon James, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. He has become a key player for Crete-Monee: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 8-10 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Garrett Jemilo, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Crete-Monee kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Thornwood only managed five hits.
Crete-Monee has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-10 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.9 runs over those games. As for Thornwood, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-9.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Thornwood has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Crete-Monee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.6 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
