The Champaign Central Maroons will square off against the Peoria Notre Dame Irish at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Peoria Notre Dame will be up against a hot Champaign Central squad: the team just extended their winning streak to 11. The Maroons' pitcher stepped up to hand Decatur Eisenhower an 11-0 shutout on Friday.
Grace Bandy and Olivia Roundtree did most of the damage at the plate: Bandy went a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Roundtree earned two RBI, two runs, and two stolen bases. That's the most RBI Roundtree has posted since back in April. Jaila Davis was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Peoria Notre Dame, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They put the hurt on St. Teresa with a sharp 13-3 victory on Thursday. With that win, the Irish brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Ella Tady was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and two doubles. The team also got some help courtesy of Lauren Leustek, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Peoria Notre Dame was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They are a perfect 7-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Champaign Central's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.5 runs on average over those games. As for Peoria Notre Dame, they now have a winning record of 12-11.
Saturday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Champaign Central hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .420. However, it's not like Peoria Notre Dame struggles in that department as they've averaged .316. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Champaign Central was able to grind out a solid victory over Peoria Notre Dame when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 4-0. Will the Maroons repeat their success, or do the Irish have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
