By Drake Skleba

 

BLOOMINGTON - When asked about Normal West’s senior right-handed pitcher Michael Collins, the word crafty and leader came up repeatedly. On Tuesday, in the Big 12 showdown between No. 11 Normal West and second-place Bloomington, Collins coupled guile with an effective breaking ball to fire a complete-game five-hitter in leading Normal West to a 5-2 road victory.

 

With the win, Normal West (22-6; 9-0) opens up a two-game lead in the Big 12 going into Thursday’s rematch at Normal West, which has won 18 of its last 19 games. Bloomington dropped to 18-10 and 7-2 in conference.

 

This one opened up as a pitching battle between Collins (4-1) and Bloomington’s senior right-handed pitcher Dylan Johnson. West picked up an unearned run to grab a quick 1-0 lead in the second inning.

 

Wildcat junior centerfielder Adam Seifert stroked a clutch two-out RBI single, scoring courtesy runner Alex Jefferson, who was running for Quincy University-bound catcher Jake Birlingmair (2-for-3; 2B; HBP).

 

In the fourth inning, Normal West senior first baseman Jason Cullen nailed a Johnson pitch and sent it soaring over the centerfield fence for Cullen’s eighth round-tripper of the season and a 2-0 Wildcat lead.

 

“Big win for us. We are undefeated in the conference right now and we would like to keep that going,” said Cullen. “Michael pitched a great game for us. I’m not surprised by his success. He is a true senior leader for our club. … We really want to beat Bloomington again Thursday, not only for conference but for bragging rights. Bloomington is one of our big rivals.”

 

In the fifth inning, the Wildcats scored three times, highlighted by a monster two-run shot off the bat of ISU-bound Brock Stewart. The homer was No.3 of the season for the hard-hitting future Redbird shortstop.

 

“It’s always great to beat our cross-town rivals from Bloomington,” said Stewart. “The win gave us a two-game lead over Bloomington in our conference. Michael pitched a great game for us. I don’t know how he does it but he certainly is crafty on the mound. He really has a great breaking ball. It felt good to hit the two-run homer for us. I got a splitter and took it out of here. We really want to win on Thursday and win the Big 12 for the third straight season.”

 

In the fifth, Wildcat junior third baseman Wes Sery singled home Jefferson, who was running for Birlingmair, who had doubled for a 5-0 lead.

 

In the bottom of the sixth, after one out, Bloomington mounted its lone threat against Collins. Purple Raider centerfielder Derek Gliwa walked, followed by a walk to Johnson and a single by Raider first baseman Alex Ludwig, to load the bases.

 

Collins forced in the first Bloomington run by walking senior catcher Tanner Cicci (1-for-2; RBI, BB). Senior SS Derek Floyd plated another Raider run on a force out at second base. With junior third baseman Donny Kirk (1-for-2) at the plate, Collins broke off a filthy curveball that froze Kirk at the plate for strike three.

 

“That was really great to get the big strikeout in the sixth,” said Collins. “My breaking ball was really working well for me today. I am blessed to pitch for a team that has such a great offense. Watching Jason and Brock hit those big home runs is exciting. It is great to be a part of all of this.”

 

In the bottom of the seventh, Collins was even craftier as he knocked down the Raiders in order to pick up his third and fourth strikeouts of the game.

 

The two Big 12 powers will meet on the West side of Normal on Thursday. Both clubs aces will be going: Normal West junior RHP Kyle Vaughn (6-1) Gliwa (5-2) for Bloomington.

 

“Michael came out of the woodwork for us today,” said Normal West head coach Chris Hawkins. “Michael is a winner and really pitched a great game. He has a great breaking ball and made some big pitches in the sixth. Brock made a mistake and got picked off but made up for it with a couple of fine plays at short and then hit the big two-run homer in the fifth. I am really proud of him.”

 

Bloomington played a solid game defensively, especially Raider third baseman Donny Kirk, who made numerous fine plays in defeat. Johnson fell to 2-4 on the season for Bloomington.

 

“We battled back in the sixth but we couldn’t come through with a big hit against Collins,” said Bloomington head coach Steve Clapp. “Dylan didn’t have his best stuff today and left a couple of pitches up on the home runs. We feel we can win on Thursday and then hopefully get some help to get back in the conference title picture.”