For the second straight game, Normal Community will face off against Normal West. The Ironmen will be playing at home against the Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Normal Community is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.7 runs per game this season.
Normal Community is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Normal West just ended the team's 11-game winning streak on Wednesday. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wildcats. While getting shut out isn't ideal, the Ironmen haven't been shut out since back in March.
For Normal West's part, not much got past Chase Reinhart, who gave up just three hits and racked up ten Ks to keep Normal Community off the board. Reinhart has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Ryder Coone was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Brady Hart, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Normal West is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-6 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Normal Community, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 8-1 and their overall record down to 12-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Normal Community has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Normal West struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
