Baseball Game Preview: Peoria Notre Dame Irish vs. Bloomington Purple Raiders

Irish

Runs

04/03/25 vs Pekin	3
04/01/25 vs Tremont	2
03/31/25 @ Normal Community	0
03/28/25 @ Metamora	7
03/26/25 vs Brimfield	10
+ 3 more games

Peoria Notre Dame and Bloomington are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2018, but likely not for long. The Irish will head out on the road to face off against the Purple Raiders at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Peoria Notre Dame is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.9 runs per game this season.

While Peoria Notre Dame's victory against Pekin wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Irish skirted past the Dragons 3-2.

Kellan McCavitt tossed a big game, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits (and only one walk).

On the hitting side, Jackson Campbell was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI.

Meanwhile, Bloomington came tearing into Tuesday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Vikings as they made off with a 16-3 win. The Purple Raiders' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.

Bloomington pushed their record up to 6-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Peoria Notre Dame, their victory bumped their record up to 5-3.

Peoria Notre Dame was able to grind out a solid win over Bloomington in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, winning 10-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Irish since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.