Normal Community is on an eight-game streak of home wins, while Champaign Central is on a ten-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Ironmen will welcome the Maroons at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Normal Community 4.1, Champaign Central 1.3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Wednesday as neither Normal Community nor Olympia made it on the board until the sixth inning. The Ironmen came out on top against the Spartans by a score of 5-1. Surprisingly, this marked the Ironmen's fourth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Normal Community got a great performance from Avery Anderson as she didn't allow a single earned run over 4.1 innings pitched.
At the plate, Tatum Yokley was excellent, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Bailey Engel was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one run and one double.
Normal Community kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, Champaign Central hadn't done well against Normal West recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. The Maroons walked away with a 5-2 victory over the Wildcats.
Champaign Central saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kaitlyn Helm, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI. Another was Kennedy Hedrick, who got on base in two of her three plate appearances with two runs.
Normal Community is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-10 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Champaign Central, their victory bumped their record up to 22-1.
Normal Community beat Champaign Central 17-12 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Ironmen repeat their success, or do the Maroons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
