The Crete-Monee Warriors will venture away from home to square off against the Bloom Blazing Trojan at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Crete-Monee is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.
Crete-Monee's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They blew past Kankakee 15-0. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Warriors.
Timothy Gaddis was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with three RBI.
Anthony Monegan
| 04/12/25 @ Kankakee | 3 |
| 04/11/25 vs Kankakee | 2 |
| 05/16/24 @ Thornridge | 2 |
| 05/01/24 @ Thornwood | 2 |
| 04/17/24 vs Thornton | 2 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Anthony Monegan, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Carlos Aguilar also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Crete-Monee was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .462. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Bloom had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 11-9 victory over the Raptors. That's two games straight that the Blazing Trojan have won by exactly two runs.
Like Crete-Monee, Bloom also got a great game from a two-way player: Trevion Franklin. Throwing, Franklin tossed 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and six unearned) runs off seven hits. Meanwhile, Kamari Dawkins tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Bloom is 2-1 when Dawkins allows one or fewer hits, but 2-6 otherwise. At the plate, Franklin scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Dawkins scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Dawkins has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played.
In other batting news, Talen Taverne was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Isaiah Maldanado, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Crete-Monee's record is now 5-6. As for Bloom, their record now sits at 4-7.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Crete-Monee has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Bloom struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.5 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Crete-Monee was able to grind out a solid win over Bloom when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 9-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Warriors since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
