The Normal Community Ironmen will head out on the road to take on the East Moline United Panthers at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Normal Community comes in on 11 and East Moline United on four.
On Friday, Normal Community got the win against Peoria by a conclusive 11-1. The Ironmen might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 13 games by six runs or more this season.
Holden Baldwin was a standout: he got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April. Chase Hendren was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI.
Normal Community always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Peoria only posted an OBP of .250.
Meanwhile, East Moline United won against Geneseo on Wednesday with seven runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. The Panthers walked away with a 7-2 win over Bloomington Central Catholic.
The team relied heavily on Carter Ramsey, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Landon Slyter also deserves some recognition as he got his first hits of the season.
Normal Community pushed their record up to 25-4 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.6 runs on average over those games. As for East Moline United, their record is now 18-9.
Saturday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Normal Community hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .349. However, it's not like East Moline United struggles in that department as they've averaged .312. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Normal Community came out on top in a nail-biter against East Moline United when the teams last played back in May of 2023, sneaking past 1-0. Do the Ironmen have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Panthers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
