Clifton Central hasn't had much luck against Manteno recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Comets are taking a road trip to take on the Panthers at 4:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Clifton Central barely beat Gardner-South Wilmington the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Comets blew past the Panthers 9-2 on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Comets in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won nine in a row.
Emily Ponton spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on six hits.
04/22/25 vs Gardner-South Wilmington | 1 |
04/14/25 vs Illinois Lutheran | 1 |
04/10/25 @ Reed-Custer | 1 |
On the hitting side, Lia Prairie was a standout: she went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Blair Bottorff, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Clifton Central kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Manteno took on Lisle on Tuesday. The Panthers' pitchers stepped up to hand the Lions a 6-0 shutout. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Panthers.
Clifton Central pushed their record up to 12-6-1 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.6 runs over those games. As for Manteno, their record is now 11-3.
Clifton Central might still be hurting after the 13-0 defeat they got from Manteno when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Comets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps