Softball Recap: Make It Five in a Row for Champaign Central

Champaign Central entered their tilt with Rochester on Thursday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Rockets. That's two games straight that the Maroons have won by just one run.

Haley Helm

Batters Struck Out

05/14/26 vs Rochester	12
05/12/26 @ Westville	11
05/09/26 @ Peoria Notre Dame	14
05/06/26 vs Effingham	8
05/02/26 vs Normal Community	11
+ 11 more games

Haley Helm was a major factor no matter where she played. She struck out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in 16 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.

Helm wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Grace Bandy, who went 2-for-3 with one run.

Champaign Central's victory bumped their record up to 27-4-1. As for Rochester, the loss snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 22-8 record.

Champaign Central and Rochester should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings. The Maroons (ranked 47th) will meet MacArthur (ranked 552nd) at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Rochester will square off against Hillsboro at 4:30 p.m. on Friday with a big rank advantage (62 vs. 235). The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Rockets 2.8, the Hilltoppers 4) so any runs scored will be well earned.