The Moline Maroons will face off against the Normal Community Ironmen at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Thursday as neither Moline nor Rock Island made it on the board until the sixth inning. The Maroons took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Rocks. The Maroons haven't had much luck with the Rocks recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Lilyanna Reyna was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she struck out seven batters over 6.2 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off only two hits.
Meanwhile, while Normal Community put up plenty of runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Urbana. The Ironmen blew past the Tigers 19-0. The Ironmen haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.
Amelia Goins made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (two). She was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 1-for-1 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
In other batting news, Zoey Wilde was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in April of 2025. Another player making a difference was Preslee Tongate, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Normal Community hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are 5-1 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Normal Community now has a winning record of 10-9. As for Moline, their loss dropped their record down to 7-11.
Moline couldn't quite finish off Normal Community when the teams last played back in April of 2025 and fell 8-6. Will the Maroons have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
