The Mentor Cardinals will square off against the Lake Catholic Cougars at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Mentor sitting on four straight wins and Lake Catholic on eight (dating back to last season).
It was a proper cat-fight when Mentor faced off against Cleveland Heights on Friday. The Cardinals were the clear victors by an 11-2 margin over the Tigers. The result was nothing new for the Cardinals, who have now won four matchups by nine runs or more so far this season.
Pat Collins made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Johnny Prentice looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Tyson Cendrowski, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season. Austin Vanhuss was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one run.
Meanwhile, Lake Catholic has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.29 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Elyria Catholic 12-11. With that win, the Cougars brought their scoring average up to 6.6 runs per game.
Like Mentor, Lake Catholic also got a great game from a two-way player: Shea Sievers. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Sievers was also big at the plate, earning one RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Brayden Mann was excellent, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Danny Locker, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Lake Catholic's victory was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Mentor, their victory bumped their record up to 8-1.
Mentor took their win against Lake Catholic in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 11-1 score. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cougars turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
