The Normal West Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Rochester Rockets at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Rochester will be up against a hot Normal West team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. The Wildcats came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against Mahomet-Seymour.
Kate McGowan spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on McKinley Pate, who scored a run and stole three bases while going 1-for-3. Those stolen bases marked the first that she snagged this season.
Meanwhile, Rochester hadn't done well against Normal University recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Rockets sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over the Pioneers. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Rockets.
Rochester pushed their record up to 8-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.0 runs over those games. As for Normal West, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Normal West skirted past Rochester 8-7 in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
