Baseball Game Preview: Pekin Dragons vs. Prairie Central Hawks

The Pekin Dragons will head out to challenge the Prairie Central Hawks at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Pekin will be strutting in after a victory while Prairie Central will be coming in after a loss.

Pekin is headed out to face Prairie Central after opening their season at home and giving their fans just what they were looking for. Pekin put the hurt on Bloomington Central Catholic with a sharp 10-2 win on Monday. The Dragons not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since May 1, 2024.

Garrett Frampton tossed a big game, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched.

On the hitting side, Joel Mingus was incredible, scoring a run while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Brady Bolen, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4.

Meanwhile, Prairie Central had to hit the road for their first game and it wasn't the result they were hoping for. They came up short against Coal City on Monday, falling 15-3. The defeat continues a trend for the Hawks in their meetings with the Coalers: they've now lost six in a row.

Evan Hansen made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one home run. Those two hits gave him a new career-high.

Everything went Pekin's way against Prairie Central when the teams last played back in March of 2024, as Pekin made off with a 12-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pekin since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.