Twenty games into the 2024 season, the Normal West Varsity Baseball team is sitting at 4th in the Big12 conference. The Cats are 11-9 with 6 conference wins. 

After outscoring their opponents in Alabama 33-11, Normal West returned to Illinois, starting out their conference play 4-0 with two wins against Bloomington High School and two wins against Urbana High School. 

The next four games were tough for the Wildcats, going 0-4 against Big12 Conference first-ranked Normal Community, and third-ranked Champaign Central. 

On Friday, April 19th, Normal West came out strong against another Big12 competitor, Peoria High, taking both games by a noticeable margin. The Cats won the first game 22-0, and won the second game 27-0. Senior Sam Beirne threw a complete game, allowing zero runs in 4 innings. The pitcher delivered a no-hitter with nine strikeouts. Senior Taylor Hafermann took the mound in game two for another shutout against the Lions, striking out 10 batters in 4 innings.

During a conversation with senior starter, Bradyn Whitehead, he expressed that, “A notable performance throughout the year includes Chase Reinhart’s pitching outing vs. Normal Community. Although Normal came out on top, the freshman pitched six innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits and six strikeouts against a top team in the state. This performance gives the Wildcats hope as their pitching continues to get better as the season progresses.”

As the Wildcats continue to improve after every game, Varsity Baseball’s head coach, Coach Hawkins says, “With 15 games left, we have already scored more runs, stolen more bases, and been hit by more pitches than the 2023 team.”

The cats are back on their home field Wednesday April 24th vs another conference opponent, Danville High School. Go support your wildcats!