The Plainfield Quakers will challenge the Decatur Central Hawks at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Plainfield sitting on eight straight victories and Decatur Central on three.
Plainfield's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They walked away with a 4-0 win over Northview.
Sidney Parks
| 04/03/25 vs Cascade | 3 |
| 04/01/25 vs Carmel | 4 |
| 04/11/25 vs New Palestine | 5 |
| 04/16/25 vs Whiteland | 7 |
| 04/08/25 vs Franklin Community | 9 |
The result came thanks to Sidney Parks's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up 17 Ks. Those 17 strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Belle Steele, who went 1-for-3 with one home run. The team also got some help courtesy of Kylie Fish, who went 1-for-4 with one home run.
While Decatur Central didn't have the best season last year (they finished 10-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past Lawrence Central 14-3 on Saturday. The result was nothing new for the Hawks, who have now won three matchups by 11 runs or more so far this season.
Baylie Polston made a big impact no matter where she played. She pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Ashyr Lawson and Kaylynn Napier did most of the damage at the plate: Lawson went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI, while Napier went 1-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most RBI Napier has posted since back in April of 2024. Charlie Baldwin was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Decatur Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .519. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Plainfield's victory was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-1. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Decatur Central, their victory bumped their record up to 6-4.
Decatur Central's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Plainfield has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.3 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Decatur Central, though, as they've been averaging only 2.7 strikeouts. Will Plainfield keep running through batters, or will the Hawks buck the trend?
Plainfield beat Decatur Central 7-4 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Do the Quakers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Hawks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
