Iroquois West won a close one the last time they played, but unfortunately they suffered a serious change of fortune on Friday. They wound up on the wrong side of a tough 9-1 walloping at the hands of the Schlarman Hilltoppers. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Iroquois West of the 6-5 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in April of 2023.
Iroquois West saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dean Clendenen, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Even though they lost, Iroquois West didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 12 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
On Schlarman's side, Jerrius Atkinson made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Atkinson was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 3-for-4. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more stolen bases the last four times he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Owen Jones, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Dillon Hemker, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Iroquois West has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-9 record this season. As for Schlarman, their victory bumped their record up to 4-5.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Iroquois West will challenge Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. One thing working in Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin's favor is that they have posted big run totals in their last three games. As for Schlarman, they will head out on the road to square off against Paris at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Schlarman is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.1 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
