The Oakwood Comets will head out on the road to challenge the Champaign Central Maroons at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Oakwood comes in on three and Champaign Central on eight.
Oakwood's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They walked away with a 5-0 win over Armstrong.
| 05/05/25 vs Armstrong | 12 |
| 04/29/25 vs North Vermillion | 10 |
| 04/21/25 vs Hoopeston | 8 |
| 04/16/25 @ Milford | 14 |
Irene Rangel made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Rangel wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Caydence Vermillion, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Champaign Central was able to grind out a solid victory over Centennial on Tuesday, taking the game 5-0.
Not much got past Haley Helm, who gave up just two hits and racked up 13 Ks to keep Centennial off the board.
On the hitting side, Mya De La Cruz was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April.
Champaign Central pushed their record up to 17-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Oakwood, their record now sits at 13-8-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Oakwood has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Champaign Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Oakwood came up short against Champaign Central in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, falling 7-3. Can the Comets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
