By Sean Duncan

NORMAL ? No. 13 Normal West has been turning scoreboards into pinball machines as of late, scoring runs in bunches and blowing out its opponents in short order.

On Wednesday against crosstown rival Normal Community, the Wildcats were at it again, as they turned a fourth-inning scoreless tie into an 11-1 six-inning rout at the pristine Corn Crib?s all-turf minor-league stadium.

The blowout marked the seventh-consecutive mercy-rule victory for Normal West (19-4, 5-0 in the Big Twelve). The Wildcats have won 10 straight, and during that stretch they?ve outscored their opponents by an amazing 124-12 margin.

?The kids are just really confident hitters right now,? said Normal West coach Chris Hawkins. ?Right now, it seems like once we get one run, we feel like we?re going to keep scoring.?

That was the case Wednesday again Normal Community (13-9, 4-2). The game was flying along, scoreless heading into the bottom of the fourth. Then bam: the Wildcats erupt for four runs. They tallied five hits in the inning, the biggest blow dealt by senior first baseman Erik Sipes? two-run triple.

Then in the sixth, Normal West took it a step further, scoring seven runs behind six hits to employ the mercy-rule again.  Sipes delivered another big hit in the inning with a two-run double. Sipes finished 3-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored.

?This was a total team effort,? said Sipes. ?We always pick each other up on and off the field. This is a great team to be on.?

In all, Normal West pounded out 14 hits, the bulk of them coming from the bottom of the order. The No. 5 through 9 hitters went a combined 10-for-12. Senior second baseman Trey Rogers went 2-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly, and seniors Adam Seifert and Garrett Cook each had two hits.

?We?re just staying aggressive,? said Hawkins. ?Once we get the foot on the gas, we try to keep it on there.?

The run support was more than enough for sophomore right-hander Matthew James.  The 6-foot, 160-pound James allowed three hits, no earned runs, struck out nine and walked two in 5.2 innings to improve to 5-0 this season.  

James, who?s one of the top Class of 2013 prospects in the state, has been lights out this spring. In his previous two starts prior to Wednesday, James had thrown a five-inning perfect game, striking out 14 of 15 batters, and a one-hitter with 12 Ks. For the season, James holds a 0.67 ERA with 66 strikeouts to four walks in 38.1 innings.

?Today I felt alright,? said James, who also went 1-for-1 with one RBI. ?I knew I wasn?t going to strike everybody out like I had been. I know all those guys and they?re good hitters.?

The two teams meet again at the Corn Crib on Thursday at 5 p.m.