Champaign Central waltzed into their game on Friday with seven straight wins... but they left with eight. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over the Bloomington Purple Raiders. For Champaign Central, this counts as revenge for the 4-0 defeat Bloomington walked away with the last time they faced one another back in May of 2023.
Haley Helm made a splash while hitting and pitching. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Helm has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Helm was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with a double and an RBI.
On Bloomington's side, Reilly Vetter spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on three hits and racked up 12 Ks.
At the plate, Bloomington saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brynn Hoder, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Champaign Central is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8-1 record this season. As for Bloomington, their loss dropped their record down to 5-8.
Champaign Central will be playing in front of their home fans against Normal West at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Champaign Central will be looking to keep their six-game home win streak alive. As for Bloomington, they will head out on the road to square off against Mt. Zion at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Mt. Zion is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.3 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
