Some of the biggest games of the season for the Clifton Central baseball team are coming up over the next week, and with wins in their last seven games, the Comets came into Monday’s road matchup with Kankakee looking to stay hot to start this pivotal stretch of play.

After Central built an early lead, and the host Kays (6-20) battled back in the bottom of the seventh and brought the tying run to the plate twice, the Comets (15-4) held on to keep their win streak intact with an 8-4 victory.

Central plays St. Anne/Donovan in River Valley Conference games Tuesday and Wednesday. A win in either game would give the Comets their second straight RVC title.

“I think we’re playing pretty good and just getting ready for everything that’s in the future, and really getting ready for [Tuesday],” senior Noah Vining said. “We’re trying to have fun, but also lock in and play like we have been.”

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Baseball: Kankakee vs. Clifton Central Kankakee's Mike Prude misses grabbing the ball on the bounce as Clifton Central's Owen Palmateer advances to score during Central's 8-4 victory over Kankakee on Monday, May 11, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Vining started on the mound Monday and set the tone early.

He retired the first seven batters of the game, and after allowing a single and walking a batter to bring the top of the Kankakee order back up in the third, escaped the inning with no further damage.

He struck out the side in the fourth and surrendered just a single run in the fifth on a walk, a wild pitch and an RBI groundout from Kankakee’s Bentley Deany before ending the inning with his eighth strikeout of the game.

That was the end of Vining’s day on the mound, but with the Comets up 8-1 entering the sixth, he had more than done his job with just one hit and two walks allowed in five innings.

“Noah was dealing today, and we needed that out of him today,” head coach Brian Kohn said. “We saw that from him in a couple of outings earlier in the season, and this was a good one.”

Vining was supported by a balanced output from the Comet lineup, with all nine starters recording at least one hit and junior Derek Meier leading the way by going 3 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs out of the leadoff spot.

“I think we’ve just got to have confidence when we go up there,” Meier said. “I know if I get on, I’ve got big guys behind me that’ll drive me in. That’ll lead to a lot of wins and could get us into a deep run in the postseason.”

Brayden Meents also had a three-hit day out of the three-hole, finishing 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI, but the bottom of the order also came through multiple times to help provide insurance runs.

Gage Boudreau was 1 for 2 with a walk and two runs out of the seven-spot while Griffin Parks (2 for 4, one run) and Mayson Mitchell (2 for 3, two RBIs, one run) were productive out of the bottom two spots in the order.

Kohn said he knew the team would be returning a lot of experience from last season’s team, with eight starters back in the fold, but has been pleased with how deep this experienced lineup has proven to be.

“Going into the year, we were kind of concerned and we didn’t know what we would have one-through-nine,” he said. “But the bottom of the order feeds the top. We’re pretty fortunate that they’ve done that. I don’t want to say things are easy, but that helps us when the bottom feeds the top.”

Kankakee had eight different players reach base on either a hit or a walk, with Devin Arbour, Jaden Villafuerte, Bryce Arceneaux and Bentley Deany all driving in a run.

Head coach Nick Crowe said it was nice to see the team string together some good plate appearances in the seventh, but early mistakes made the hole a bit too big to dig out of.

“In the second inning, we gave up a four-spot and made a couple miscues in the outfield,” he said. “When you come up in the seventh and you’re down seven, that’s tough. It’s really hard to come back from seven.

“...I was proud of how our guys fought in the seventh inning. We had five, six, seven quality at-bats and brought some runs across, but when you don’t do the little things right, it’s hard to come back.”