The Normal University Pioneers will challenge the Pontiac Indians at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Normal University barely beat Mahomet-Seymour the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Pioneers were the clear victors by an 11-5 margin over the Bulldogs on Thursday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Pioneers considering their two-run performance the game before.
Grace Gaddis tossed a big game, tossing 5.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off eight hits.
Ryan Coombs
| 04/17/25 vs Mahomet-Seymour | 4 |
| 04/12/25 vs Tremont | 2 |
| 04/08/25 vs MacArthur | 2 |
| 04/14/25 @ Normal West | 1 |
| 04/09/25 @ Springfield | 1 |
On the hitting side, Ryan Coombs was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lola Phillips, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Normal University was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .424. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Pontiac waltzed into their matchup on Wednesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They never let the Tigers get on the board and left with a 7-0 win. The Indians might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by seven runs or more this season.
Elena Krause was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out 18 over seven innings pitched. Krause was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Krause wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was India Mattingly, who went 1-for-4 with two runs.
Pontiac's victory bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Normal University, their win bumped their record up to 4-7.
Normal University couldn't quite finish off Pontiac when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 2-0. Can the Pioneers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
