Softball Game Preview: Joliet West Tigers vs. Plainfield Central Wildcats

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Previous Games

04/24/25 - Home	7-8 L
05/15/24 - Home	4-2 W
04/16/24 - Away	1-11 L
05/08/23 - Away	7-1 W
04/11/23 - Home	16-17 L
+ 5 more games

Joliet West and Plainfield Central are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Tigers will venture away from home to take on the Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Joliet West is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Plainfield East just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of the Bengals by a score of 2-1. Tigers fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Bengals since on Monday.

Meanwhile, Plainfield Central hadn't done well against Plainfield South recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. The Wildcats sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 victory over the Cougars. The win was nothing new for the Wildcats as they're now sitting on five straight.

Jamie Crawford spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on seven hits and racked up seven Ks.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ava Zitello, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April. Evalyn Prochaska was another key player, going 1-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.

Plainfield Central's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-12-1. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Joliet West, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-21.