Dunlap and Pekin are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Eagles will square off against the Dragons at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Dunlap's pitching crew has only allowed two runs per game this season, so Pekin's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Dunlap is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Metamora, who was ranked 14th at the time (Dunlap was ranked ninth). The Eagles sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-0 victory over the Redbirds on Tuesday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last six times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Sutton Centoni
| 04/29/25 vs Metamora | 13 |
| 04/26/25 @ Ottawa | 10 |
| 04/15/25 vs East Peoria | 10 |
| 04/12/25 @ Lincoln | 11 |
| 04/08/25 vs Pekin | 12 |
| + 7 more games |
The result came thanks to Sutton Centoni's shutout, as she gave up just a hit and racked up 13 Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in 12 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Gabby Drake, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Lexi Hamer, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
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.
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.
Dunlap's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Pekin, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-8.
Everything went Dunlap's way against Pekin in their previous meeting back in April, as Dunlap made off with a 12-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
