Rantoul is 0-6 against Charleston since April of 2015 but things could change on Friday. The Eagles will welcome the Trojans at 4:30 p.m.
Rantoul fell victim to Prairie Central and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They fell just short of the Hawks by a score of 2-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Eagles have suffered since April 24, 2024.
Holden Cargo spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on three hits and racked up nine Ks.
On the hitting side, Rantoul saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dalton Gernentz, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Charleston got themselves on the board against Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City on Thursday, but Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City never followed suit. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over the Bobcats. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Trojans considering their one-run performance the matchup before.
Wyatt Gordon was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out six over five innings pitched. Gordon was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
In other batting news, Luke Bonnstetter and Owen Bennett did most of the damage at the plate: Bonnstetter went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI, while Bennett went 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Charleston is undefeated when Bonnstetter posts two or more runs, but 1-7 otherwise. Quinn Taylor was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Charleston was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .462. The last time their batting average was this high was back in May of 2024.
Charleston is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-7 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Rantoul, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-7.
Rantoul might still be hurting after the 7-0 defeat they got from Charleston in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
