Illini Bluffs has gone 9-1 against Cuba/Spoon River Valley recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Tigers will venture away from home to square off against the Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. Illini Bluffs is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.7 runs per game this season.
Illini Bluffs barely beat Midwest Central the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Tigers put the hurt on the Raiders with a sharp 8-2 win on Wednesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Tigers.
Will Giftos spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on three hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.
Brayden Fargher
| 04/30/25 vs Midwest Central | 3 |
| 03/26/25 vs Peoria | 2 |
| 03/25/25 @ Astoria/VIT | 2 |
| 03/30/24 @ Peoria | 2 |
| 04/29/25 vs Delavan | 1 |
At the plate, Illini Bluffs let Brayden Fargher and Toby Cooper run wild. Fargher went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run, while Cooper got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those three RBI gave Fargher a new career-high. Brendan Bacon was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double.
Illini Bluffs was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cuba/Spoon River Valley). They blew past ROWVA/Williamsfield 19-9 on Tuesday. Considering the Wildcats have won eight games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Illini Bluffs' victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-5. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Cuba/Spoon River Valley, they now have a winning record of 10-9.
Illini Bluffs was able to grind out a solid victory over Cuba/Spoon River Valley when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 4-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
