The Rich Township Raptors will venture away from home to square off against the Argo Argonauts at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Rich Township lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Kankakee, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Thursday's game. The Raptors were the clear victors by a 19-6 margin over the Kays on Thursday. The Raptors might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matches by six runs or more this season.
Isiah Burbridge was excellent, going a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Brandon Bankhead, who went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Argo got the win against Hillcrest on Thursday by a conclusive 14-1. With that victory, the Argonauts brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Brennan Mackessy and Matt Mateyack did most of the damage at the plate: Mackessy went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base, while Mateyack went a perfect 3-for-3 with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Argo is 4-2 when Mateyack posts two or more runs, but 3-9 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Daniel Padilla, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Argo was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .409. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Argo has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-11 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.6 runs over those games. As for Rich Township, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-9.
Rich Township might still be hurting after the 16-6 loss they got from Argo in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Raptors avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
