The Marian Catholic Spartans are taking a road trip to square off against the Manteno Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Marian Catholic's last matchup with Sandburg could've gone either way, but unfortunately the same can't be said for the pair's contest on Monday. The Spartans came up short against the Eagles, falling 10-2. The loss continues a trend for the Spartans in their meetings with the Eagles: they've now lost three in a row.
Marian Catholic got a good showing from Tom Kooyenga, who pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those zero hits allowed gave Kooyenga a new career-low.
At the plate, Marian Catholic saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ernie Ayala, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Manteno duked it out with Herscher on Tuesday. The Panthers had just enough and edged out the Tigers 8-7. The game was the first time the Panthers have beaten the Tigers on their field since May 9, 2023.
Braden Campbell made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over seven innings while giving up five earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Jake Stevens was incredible, going 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
Manteno has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.2 runs over those games. As for Marian Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-15.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
