vs
| 03/29/23 - Away | 11-6 W |
| 03/27/19 - Away | 16-4 W |
| 03/28/18 - Home | 15-2 W |
| 03/29/17 - Home | 11-3 W |
| 04/13/16 - Home | 11-3 W |
Wilmington is a perfect 5-0 against Kankakee since April of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Wildcats will host the Kays at 4:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Wilmington sitting on five straight wins and Kankakee on four.
Wilmington is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Peotone a 14-0 shutout on Tuesday. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 12 games by six runs or more this season.
Ryan Kettman was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Lucas Rink was a standout: he went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in May of 2024. Declan Moran was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Wilmington was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Peotone only posted a batting average of .059.
Meanwhile, Kankakee made easy work of Thornridge on Wednesday and carried off a 12-2 victory.
Like Wilmington, Kankakee also got a great game from a two-way player: Alexander Grill. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Grill was also big at the plate, going a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs. He has become a key player for Kankakee: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 5-13 otherwise.
In other batting news, Byron Wills was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. Kankakee is 4-2 when Wills posts two or more runs, but 4-12 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Bryce Deany, who got on base in both of his plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs.
Wilmington pushed their record up to 16-7 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.4 runs over those games. As for Kankakee, their win bumped their record up to 8-14.
Kankakee's pitching crew better be locked in on Thursday. Wilmington hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. It's a different story for Kankakee, though, as they've been averaging only 0 home runs. Will they be able to keep Wilmington in the park?
Wilmington beat Kankakee 11-6 when the teams last played back in March of 2023. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Kays turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
