Baseball Game Preview: Normal West Wildcats vs. Normal Community Ironmen

Normal West hasn't had much luck against Normal Community recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Wildcats will square off against the Ironmen at 4:30 p.m.

On Friday, Normal West came up short against Champaign Central and fell 6-1.

Meanwhile, Normal Community entered their tilt with Centennial on Tuesday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They were the clear victors by a 19-2 margin over the Chargers. The result was nothing new for the Ironmen, who have now won 12 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.

Oliver Vercruysse looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since April 2nd.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Carter Harris, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Holden Baldwin also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Normal Community always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Normal Community's record now sits at 16-2. As for Normal West, their loss dropped their record down to 13-7.

Normal West suffered a grim 12-2 defeat to Normal Community in their previous meeting back in April of 2025. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.