Decatur Eisenhower is 1-7 against Champaign Central since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Panthers will head out to challenge the Maroons at 4:30 p.m. Decatur Eisenhower has given up an average of 15.9 runs per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Decatur Eisenhower is headed into Friday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their seventh straight game on Tuesday. They came up short against Lincoln, falling 19-0.
Meanwhile, Champaign Central came tearing into Thursday's game with nine straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.1 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Comets a 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Maroons, who have now won 12 contests by ten runs or more so far this season.
Haley Helm made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out seven over six innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Maisie Bowers, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Kaitlyn Helm, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one double.
Champaign Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .611. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Oakwood only posted an OBP of .100.
Champaign Central pushed their record up to 19-1 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.6 runs on average over those games. As for Decatur Eisenhower, their loss dropped their record down to 2-15.
Decatur Eisenhower suffered a grim 16-1 defeat to Champaign Central in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
