The Illinois Valley Central Grey Ghosts will head out on the road to face off against the Prairie Central Hawks at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Illinois Valley Central's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Prairie Central's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Illinois Valley Central is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Monday, just like they did against Rantoul (and have done all season long). Illinois Valley Central was the clear victor by an 8-2 margin over Rantoul on Saturday. The victory was a breath of fresh air for Illinois Valley Central as it put an end to their four-game losing streak.
Max Gregory looked comfortable as he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Mason Marchand, who scored two runs and stole five bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Griffen Landsverk, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Prairie Central was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their seventh straight loss. They fell just short of Pontiac by a score of 7-6. That's two games in a row now that Prairie Central has lost by just one run.
Even though they lost, Prairie Central didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with six strikeouts. This was only their tenth loss (out of 13 games) when they post five or more strikeouts.
Illinois Valley Central's win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 13-9. As for Prairie Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-14.
Illinois Valley Central took their victory against Prairie Central in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 13-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Illinois Valley Central since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
