Undefeated Iron baseball aims for 15th straight win

Junior Jonah Roper has struckout 30 of the 55 batters he has faced this season. Roper has has allowed seven hits and two runs in 14 1/3 innings of worth this season.

The undefeated Ironmen baseball team looks to extend their win streak to 15 games when they travel to Champaign Centennial for April 12’s Big 12 matchup.

Centennial is 1-7-1 on the season and 0-2 in conference play after Wednesday’s matchup between the two teams.

With Community’s 12-1 win over the Chargers the Iron improved to 14-0 and top the Big 12 standings at 4-0.

Jonah Roper rang up 11 strikeouts in the victory, giving up one hit and one run in four innings of work.

Roper is 3-0 on the season and has struck out 30 in 14 innings pitched. The junior has posted back-to-back 10-plus strikeout performances, retiring 10 in April 5’s 8-5 win over Champaign Central.

Against Centennial, the Iron took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth, scoring two runs on a wild pitch in the first and three in the third.

A string of five singles would see seven runs added to the scoreboard, putting the game away. Kaileb Hackman closed the game out in the fifth, striking out the side to evoke the run rule.

Community tallied 11 hits in the contest, with Anthony Gura’s RBI double in the third the Iron’s lone extra-base hit.

Nearing the halfway point of the season, the Ironmen are outscoring opponents 112 runs to 23.

Community’s pitching has limited the oppositions scoring chances by allowing just 49 hits.

At the plate, the Iron have tallied 114 hits with the duo of Ryan Theile and Kaileb Hackman lead the team at the plate.

Theile, an Augustana commit, is hitting .500 with 20 RBIS in 36 at-bats.Hackman, in the senior’s 41 at-bats, is hitting .390 and has driven in nine.

Community takes the mound against the Chargers at 4:30 p.m. Friday before heading to Bradley-Bourbonnais to face the 5-11 Boilermakers Saturday at 11 a.m.

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