Wilmington hasn't had much luck against Beecher recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Wildcats will face off against the Bobcats at 4:30 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Wilmington 3.9, Beecher 1.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Wilmington took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Coal City, sneaking past 1-0. Those one runs were actually the fewest the Wildcats have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Not much got past Taryn Gilbert, who gave up just six hits to keep Coal City off the board.
On the hitting side, Wilmington's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Keeley Walsh, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, Beecher put another one in the bag on Wednesday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 6-1 victory over Illiana Christian.
Ava Lorenzatti spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on two hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Elena Kvasnicka, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases she has posted over her last ten games.
Beecher pushed their record up to 18-0 with the win, which was their 18th straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average this season. As for Wilmington, their record now sits at 13-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Wilmington hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Beecher struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Wilmington couldn't quite get it done against Beecher in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 as they fell 6-2. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
