The Champaign Central Maroons will be playing at home against the St. Teresa Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing is sure in Champaign Central's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while St. Teresa has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
Champaign Central is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Tuesday, just like they did against MacArthur (and have done all season long). Everything went Champaign Central's way against MacArthur on Monday as Champaign Central made off with a 19-1 victory.
Haley Helm and Tayten Hunter made a splash no matter where they played. Throwing, Helm tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Hunter tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. At bat, Helm went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two doubles, while Hunter got on base in all four of her plate appearances with a home run, four runs, and five RBI.
In other batting news, Mya de la Cruz was a standout: she got on base in three of her four plate appearances with a home run and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaitlyn Helm, who scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought game, but St. Teresa had to settle for a 6-4 defeat against Shelbyville on Monday.
Like Champaign Central, St. Teresa also got a great game from a pair of two-way players: Jalie Eller. On the mound, Eller tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Meanwhile, Cheryl Easterling struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up five earned runs off eight hits (and only one walk). She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Eller scored a run while going 1-for-3, while Easterling scored a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Elle Kortte made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Avery Harrison, who went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run.
Even though they lost, St. Teresa didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 14 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Champaign Central has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 9-8-1 record this season. As for St. Teresa, their loss dropped their record down to 4-10.
St. Teresa's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Champaign Central has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.6 hits per game. It's a different story for St. Teresa, though, as they've been averaging 9.4. Given Champaign Central's sizable advantage in that area, St. Teresa will need to find a way to close that gap.
Champaign Central took their win against St. Teresa in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 19-2. Will Champaign Central repeat their success, or does St. Teresa have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
