The Peoria Notre Dame Irish will take on the Normal West Wildcats at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Peoria Notre Dame will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Monday, then bounced right back against Richwoods on Wednesday. The Irish blew past the Knights 15-7. The result was nothing new for the Irish, who have now won eight matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Elizabeth Leustek
| 05/14/25 @ Richwoods | 3 |
| 04/08/25 @ Danville | 2 |
| 03/29/25 vs Rochester | 2 |
| 05/12/25 @ Alleman | 1 |
| 05/10/25 @ Champaign Central | 1 |
Lexie Dallinger-Eaker and Elizabeth Leustek were major factors no matter where they played. On the mound, Dallinger-Eaker pitched four innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off nine hits. Meanwhile, Leustek tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. At bat, Dallinger-Eaker went 3-for-5 with one triple, two RBI, and one run, while Leustek went 3-for-4 with four RBI, two doubles, and one stolen base. Those three hits gave Leustek a new career-high.
In other batting news, Peoria Notre Dame got a big performance out of Ella Tady, who went 1-for-5 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Mady Gibson, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Peoria Notre Dame kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are 7-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, Normal West won against Peoria on Tuesday with 20 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. Everything went the Wildcats' way against Urbana as they made off with a 20-8 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Wildcats.
McKinley Pate was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Elsah Ganschow was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Peoria Notre Dame's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 13-13. As for Normal West, their win bumped their record up to 11-16.
Peoria Notre Dame couldn't quite get it done against Normal West in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 as they fell 5-2. Will the Irish have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
