Baseball Game Preview: Bloomington Purple Raiders vs. Normal Community Ironmen

Bloomington is 0-10 against Normal Community since April of 2017 but things could change on Monday. The Purple Raiders will face off against the Ironmen at 4:00 p.m.

Bloomington is headed into Monday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fourth straight game on Saturday. They lost 8-1 to Washington.

Meanwhile, Normal Community had already won 11 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it 12 on Saturday. They were the clear victors by a 10-3 margin over the Panthers. Considering the Ironmen have won 14 games by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.

Jacob Engel looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Drew Stevens was a standout: he got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyle Beaty, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.

Normal Community's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 26-4. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Bloomington, their defeat dropped their record down to 18-10.