Baseball Game Preview: Tremont Turks vs. Illini Bluffs Tigers

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Previous 5 Games

05/04/24 - Home	5-4 W
05/06/23 - Away	8-0 W
05/04/19 - Home	4-3 W
05/06/17 - Away	10-0 W
05/07/16 - Home	4-3 W

Tremont is a perfect 5-0 against Illini Bluffs since May of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Turks will challenge the Tigers at 10:00 a.m. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Tremont sitting on 13 straight victories and Illini Bluffs on seven.

Tremont's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Delavan as they made off with a 10-0 win. The Turks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 19 matches by six runs or more this season.

Illini Bluffs came out on top against Peoria Christian on Friday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run fifth inning. The Tigers put the hurt on the Chargers with a sharp 8-0 victory. The Tigers are also no stranger to big wins: their blowout was the eighth contest they've won by 6+ runs this season.

The result came thanks to Brayden Fargher's shutout, as he gave up just a hit and racked up 12 Ks. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Toby Cooper was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. He has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played.

Tremont pushed their record up to 25-4 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Illini Bluffs, their win bumped their record up to 15-5.

Tremont came out on top in a nail-biter against Illini Bluffs in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Turks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.