Baseball Game Preview: Canterbury Crusaders vs. Keswick Christian Crusaders

Canterbury will venture away from home to challenge Keswick Christian at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Canterbury's pitching crew has only allowed 2.8 runs per game this season, so Keswick Christian's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Canterbury is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Grace Christian with a sharp 14-1 win on Thursday. The Crusaders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by six runs or more this season.

Ian Robinson made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. Robinson was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.

Brody Payne

Runs (Career)

04/03/25 vs Grace Christian	2
04/01/25 @ Lakeside Christian	1
03/10/25 vs Lakeside Christian	1
03/03/25 vs Oasis Christian	1
02/27/25 vs Admiral Farragut	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Brody Payne, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. Bode Bouis also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Canterbury always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .645. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Keswick Christian suffered their closest defeat since March 10th on Friday. They fell just short of Master's Academy by a score of 5-3. The Crusaders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

The victory made it two in a row for Canterbury and bumps their season record up to 9-4. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Keswick Christian, their loss dropped their record down to 11-9.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Canterbury has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Keswick Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Canterbury skirted past Keswick Christian 1-0 in their previous matchup back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for Canterbury since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.