Baseball Game Preview: Normal West Wildcats vs. Bradley-Bourbonnais Boilermakers

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Previous 3 Games

05/04/24 - Away	8-1 W
04/19/21 - Away	9-7 W
05/30/18 - Neutral	12-0 W

Normal West is a perfect 3-0 against Bradley-Bourbonnais since May of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Wildcats will host the Boilermakers at 10:00 a.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

Normal West took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-7 win over Centennial.

Torin DeLaere was a standout: he went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Chase Knuth was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Normal West was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .417. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Centennial only posted a batting average of .286.

While Bradley-Bourbonnais didn't have the best season last year (they finished 15-20), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They skirted past Plainfield South 6-5. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Boilermakers.

Mason Shaul and Cody Freitas did most of the damage at the plate: Shaul scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2, while Freitas went 2-for-4 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI. Shaul also launched a home run, marking his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Jace Boudreau, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.

Normal West's victory was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-2. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 1.25 runs across that stretch. As for Bradley-Bourbonnais, their win bumped their record up to 5-2.

Normal West took their victory against Bradley-Bourbonnais in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 8-1 score. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Boilermakers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.