Baseball Game Preview: Naperville Central Redhawks vs. Metea Valley Mustangs

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Previous Games

05/15/24 - Home	5-0 W
05/10/24 - Home	12-3 W
05/07/24 - Away	9-7 W
05/06/24 - Home	5-4 W
05/17/23 - Home	5-0 W
+ 5 more games

Naperville Central is a perfect 10-0 against Metea Valley since May of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Redhawks will challenge the Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. Naperville Central will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.

On Saturday, Naperville Central beat Prospect 6-3.

Meanwhile, Metea Valley came into Saturday's match having lost ten straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. Everything went their way against Taft on Saturday as they made off with a 9-2 win. The Mustangs not only won on Saturday, but they posted their biggest win since April 12th (when they won 10-0).

Caleb Allen spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up nine Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Tyler Gluting was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs. He is becoming a predictor of Metea Valley's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 6-1 (and 4-13 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Connor Lavery, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and one double.

Metea Valley hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Taft struck out nine times.

Naperville Central pushed their record up to 13-10 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Metea Valley, their record is now 10-14.

Naperville Central was able to grind out a solid victory over Metea Valley when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 5-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Redhawks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.