Baseball Game Preview: Central Rockets vs. McHenry Warriors

The Central Rockets will square off against the McHenry Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Central 3.3, McHenry 2.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Galesburg hit Central with a four-run seventh inning on Saturday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Rockets came up short against the Silver Streaks, falling 7-1. That's two games in a row now that the Rockets have lost by exactly six runs.

Central got a good showing from Gavin Bramer, who struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just two earned runs off six hits (and only one walk). That's the fewest earned runs Bramer has allowed over his last three contests.

On the hitting side, Central saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Sam Maglares, who went 1-for-2 with one double and one RBI. Another was Zane Pollack, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

Meanwhile, McHenry waltzed into their match on Thursday with four straight wins... but they left with five. Everything went their way against the Rockets as they made off with an 8-2 win. The Warriors might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 games by six runs or more this season.

McHenry's victory was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-2-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Central, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 10-8 record this season.

Central suffered a grim 8-2 defeat to McHenry when the teams last played on Thursday. Will the Rockets have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.