vs
| 05/06/24 - Away | 3-2 W |
| 05/08/23 - Home | 12-0 W |
| 05/09/22 - Away | 17-2 W |
| 05/06/21 - Home | 20-5 W |
| 04/25/19 - Home | 8-2 W |
| + 5 more games |
Normal West has gone a perfect 10-0 against Champaign Central recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Wildcats will look to defend their home field against the Maroons at 4:30 p.m.
Normal West came into their game on Saturday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They lost 10-1 to Canton.
Normal West saw nine different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kinley Yacko, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run.
Meanwhile, Champaign Central came tearing into Saturday's matchup with 11 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.4 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Irish 7-1. The result was nothing new for the Maroons, who have now won 14 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Haley Helm made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 15 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Molly Kloeppel was excellent, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Another player making a difference was Maisie Bowers, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double.
Champaign Central's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.6 runs on average over those games. As for Normal West, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost five of their last six games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 8-15 record this season.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Normal West hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Champaign Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.2 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Normal West skirted past Champaign Central 3-2 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Maroons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
