vs
| 04/14/23 - Away | 7-0 W |
| 04/10/19 - Away | 9-3 W |
| 04/11/18 - Home | 14-8 W |
| 04/12/17 - Away | 6-1 W |
| 04/13/16 - Home | 4-2 W |
| 04/15/15 - Away | 3-2 W |
Charleston has gone a perfect 6-0 against Rantoul recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Trojans will challenge the Eagles at 4:30 p.m. Charleston will be strutting in after a win while Rantoul will be coming in after a loss.
Charleston's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 10-0. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Trojans considering their one-run performance the game before.
Wyatt Gordon made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out six over five innings pitched. Gordon was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
In other batting news, Luke Bonnstetter and Owen Bennett did most of the damage at the plate: Bonnstetter went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI, while Bennett went 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most runs Bennett has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Quinn Taylor, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Charleston always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Rantoul fell victim to Prairie Central and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They fell just short of the Hawks by a score of 2-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Eagles have suffered since April 24, 2024.
Holden Cargo spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on three hits and racked up nine Ks.
At the plate, Rantoul saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dalton Gernentz, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base.
Charleston has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 4-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Rantoul, they have been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last nine matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 5-7 record this season.
Everything went Charleston's way against Rantoul when the teams last played back in April of 2023, as Charleston made off with a 7-0 win. Do the Trojans have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Eagles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
