Baseball Game Preview: Newman Central Catholic Comets vs. Mendota Trojans

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Previous Games

04/28/25 - Home	13-3 W
05/16/24 - Home	11-1 W
04/25/24 - Home	5-1 W
04/22/24 - Away	5-3 W
04/27/23 - Away	8-4 W
+ 3 more games

Newman Central Catholic is a perfect 8-0 against Mendota since April of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Comets are taking a road trip to challenge the Trojans at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Newman Central Catholic has four straight victories, Mendota has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

While Newman Central Catholic's win against Kewanee wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Comets had just enough and edged out the Boilermakers 8-7 on Monday.

Garret Matznick made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with four RBI and one stolen base. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March.

Matznick wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Daniel Kelly, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.

Erie-Prophetstown hit Mendota with a five-run fourth inning on Monday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Trojans came up short against the Panthers, falling 7-1.

Newman Central Catholic's victory was their 11th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-3-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Mendota, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-12-1.

Newman Central Catholic took their victory against Mendota in their previous matchup last Monday by a conclusive 13-3 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Comets since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.