Softball Game Preview: Pekin Dragons vs. Dunlap Eagles

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Previous Games

04/08/25 - Away	0-12 L
05/06/24 - Home	1-3 L
04/25/24 - Away	0-10 L
04/27/23 - Home	7-9 L
04/04/23 - Away	6-7 L
+ 5 more games

Pekin and Dunlap are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Dragons will welcome the Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.

Pekin had taken Lincoln down for two straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Wednesday. The Dragons fell just short of the Railsplitters by a score of 3-2. The Dragons have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Zoe Lindahl spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Pekin saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bella Benassi, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases.

Meanwhile, Dunlap faced Metamora in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. The Eagles never let the Redbirds get on the board and left with a 2-0 victory. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last six times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

The result came thanks to Sutton Centoni's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up 13 Ks.

At the plate, Gabby Drake was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Lexi Hamer, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

Dunlap is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.7 runs over those games. As for Pekin, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-8.

Pekin suffered a grim 12-0 defeat to Dunlap when the teams last played back in April. Will the Dragons have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.