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| 05/17/24 - Home | 11-1 W |
| 04/16/24 - Home | 8-4 W |
| 04/18/23 - Home | 8-6 W |
| 03/15/22 - Home | 12-2 W |
Villa Grove is a perfect 4-0 against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley since March of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Blue Devils will head out to face off against the Falcons at 4:30 p.m. Villa Grove will be strutting in after a win while Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley will be coming in after a defeat.
Villa Grove's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They blew past Okaw Valley 19-0. That looming 19-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Blue Devils yet this season.
Piper Kiser made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with four runs, three RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, Madison Hinds and Hayden Thomas did most of the damage at the plate: Hinds went 2-for-4 with six RBI, two runs, and one double, while Thomas got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three RBI and two runs. That double was Hinds' first of the season. Olivia Jones was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Villa Grove kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in five consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley fell victim to LeRoy and their airtight pitching crew on Monday. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Panthers. The Falcons have struggled against the Panthers recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive lost meeting.
Villa Grove is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.6 runs over those games. As for Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, they now have a losing record of 8-9.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Villa Grove hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Villa Grove took their win against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 11-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blue Devils since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
