Baseball Game Preview: Peoria Notre Dame Irish vs. Champaign Central Maroons

The Peoria Notre Dame Irish will venture away from home to challenge the Champaign Central Maroons at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Peoria Notre Dame's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Danville with a sharp 10-0 win. The victory was nothing new for the Irish as they're now sitting on three straight.

Jude Lichtenberger

Batters Struck Out

04/30/25 vs Danville	3
04/26/25 vs Deer Creek-Mackinaw	1
04/11/25 @ Centennial	1
04/01/25 vs Tremont	3

Jude Lichtenberger looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Thomas Mickels, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Jack Livengood was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run and one double.

Meanwhile, Champaign Central made easy work of Centennial on Wednesday and carried off a 15-3 win.

Peoria Notre Dame now has a winning record of 11-10. As for Champaign Central, they now have a winning record of 12-11-1.

Peoria Notre Dame skirted past Champaign Central 8-6 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Irish since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.