Baseball Game Preview: Normal University Pioneers vs. Metamora Redbirds

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Previous 5 Games

03/21/24 - Away	6-2 W
03/21/23 - Away	13-7 W
05/16/22 - Away	13-5 W
05/12/17 - Away	4-0 W
05/15/15 - Away	16-11 W

Normal University is a perfect 5-0 against Metamora since May of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Pioneers will welcome the Redbirds at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Normal University's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They walked away with a 4-0 victory over Williamsville. The win continues a trend for the Pioneers in their matchups with the Bullets: they've now won six in a row.

Meanwhile, Metamora made easy work of Pekin on Monday and carried off an 11-1 victory.

Mason Sauder was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over five innings pitched. He has become a key player for Metamora: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most three hits, but 4-10 otherwise. Sauder was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Stephen Petri was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run and one double. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brady Jones, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run.

Metamora always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Normal University pushed their record up to 16-4 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Metamora, their win ended a six-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-11.

Normal University beat Metamora 6-2 in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Will the Pioneers repeat their success, or do the Redbirds have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.