Lockport has played every game this season on their home field, but they'll have to hit the road on Thursday. They will square off against the Joliet West Tigers at 4:30 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Wednesday, Lockport was able to grind out a solid victory over Providence Catholic, taking the game 6-2. That's two games straight that Lockport has won by exactly four runs.
Lockport got a great performance from Kelcie McGraw as she struck out 16 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. McGraw has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't pitched less than six innings every time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Sarah Viar, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Joliet West had already won five in a row dating back to last season (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.4 runs), and they went ahead and made it six on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Knights and snuck past 4-3.
Lockport's win was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs per game. As for Joliet West, their victory bumped their record up to 2-0.
Lockport took their win against Joliet West in their previous matchup back in April of 2022 by a conclusive 8-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lockport since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
