Baseball Game Preview: Normal Community Ironmen vs. Centennial Chargers

For the second straight game, Normal Community will face off against Centennial. The Ironmen are taking a road trip to take on the Chargers at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Normal Community will be looking to extend their current nine-game winning streak.

Normal Community's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Centennial as they made off with a 14-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Ironmen, who have now won five matches by six runs or more so far this season.

Luke Klunke tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high.

Brady Burkhart

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/14/25 vs Centennial	3
04/11/25 @ Champaign Central	1
04/07/25 vs Danville	1
03/18/25 @ Morton	1

At the plate, Brady Burkhart was incredible, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (three). Drew Stevens also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Normal Community always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Centennial only posted an OBP of .176.

Normal Community's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-3. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Centennial, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-7.

Wednesday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Normal Community has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .473. However, it's not like Centennial struggles in that department as they've averaged .449. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.