The Plainfield Central Wildcats will head out to take on the Plainfield East Bengals at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The last three games Plainfield Central has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Plainfield Central took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They skirted past Waubonsie Valley 2-1.
Kaylynn Howe spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on four hits.
At the plate, Plainfield Central saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ava Sommerfeld, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one double.
Plainfield Central hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Plainfield East made sure to put some runs up on the board against Yorkville Christian on Saturday. The Bengals were the clear victors by a 12-2 margin over the Mustangs. Considering the Bengals' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Maya Patel tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Plainfield East got a massive performance out of Corinne Garmon, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most runs Garmon has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Avery Welsh, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base.
The win got Plainfield Central back to even at 12-12-1. As for Plainfield East, their record is now 16-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Plainfield Central hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Plainfield East struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Plainfield Central couldn't quite get it done against Plainfield East in their previous meeting back in April as they fell 8-4. Can the Wildcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
