The Normal West Wildcats will take on the Dunlap Eagles at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Normal West took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They blew past Bloomington 7-1.
Normal West got a great performance from Chase Reinhart as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 14 over six innings pitched. Those 14 strikeouts gave Reinhart a new career-high.
Cooper Temples
| 04/11/25 vs Bloomington | 3 |
| 04/03/25 vs Centennial | 2 |
| 03/26/25 vs Gibson County | 2 |
| 04/07/25 @ Urbana | 1 |
| 03/17/25 vs Morton | 1 |
On the hitting side, Cooper Temples was incredible, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Torin DeLaere was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one home run.
Meanwhile, Dunlap waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They put the hurt on the Dragons with a sharp 9-1 win. Considering the Eagles have won seven games by more than seven runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Davis Weeks made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That home run was his first of the season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Owen Shissler, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Jackson Newton, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Dunlap was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .308 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Normal West is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Dunlap, their win bumped their record up to 8-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Normal West has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Dunlap struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Normal West's way against Dunlap in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, as Normal West made off with an 11-5 victory. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Eagles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
