The Newman Central Catholic Comets will take on the Rock Falls Rockets at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Rock Falls will be up against a hot Newman Central Catholic squad: the team just extended their winning streak to five. Everything went Newman Central Catholic's way against Bureau Valley on Monday as Newman Central Catholic made off with an 11-1 win. 11 seems to be a good number for the Comets as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
The team relied heavily on Ashton Miner, who scored a run while going 2-for-2. Garret Matznick was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Newman Central Catholic hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Rock Falls). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Prophetstown a 15-0 shutout on Monday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Ethan Mathews made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. Mathews was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Austin Castaneda was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. That stolen base was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Owen Laws, who scored three runs while going 2-for-3.
Newman Central Catholic pushed their record up to 6-1-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Rock Falls, the victory got them back to even at 3-3-1.
Tuesday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Newman Central Catholic has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .470. However, it's not like Rock Falls struggles in that department as they've averaged .469. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Newman Central Catholic beat Rock Falls 6-2 in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Does Newman Central Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will Rock Falls turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
