Baseball Game Preview: Normal University Pioneers vs. East Peoria Raiders

The Normal University Pioneers will venture away from home to square off against the East Peoria Raiders at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Normal University's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so East Peoria's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Normal University will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Wednesday, then bounced right back against Pontiac on Friday. The Pioneers came out on top against the Indians by a score of 10-6. The win continues a trend for the Pioneers in their matchups with the Indians: they've now won five in a row.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for East Peoria, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They walked away with a 7-2 victory over LaSalle-Peru on Friday.

R.J. Duncheon was excellent, going 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.

Normal University pushed their record up to 20-5 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.7 runs over those games. As for East Peoria, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-7 record this season.

Normal University skirted past East Peoria 3-2 in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Pioneers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.