Baseball Preview: Lutheran Crusaders vs. Cornerstone Christian Cyclones
Lutheran is on a three-game streak of home losses, Cornerstone Christian a six-game streak of away losses (dating back to last season), but someone's luck is about to change. The Lutheran Crusaders will take on the Cornerstone Christian Cyclones at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Lutheran will head into Wednesday's matchup ready to turn things around: they couldn't quite beat North Mac on Wednesday but the two-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the 15-point loss they were dealt on Saturday. Lutheran fell just short of North Mac by a score of 8-6.
Max Yenchko was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits (and not a single walk). Yenchko has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Yenchko was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, Tad Andrews made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Matt Hemenway, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Lutheran was hitting in the alleys and finished the game with three doubles. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Mac didn't hit any.
Meanwhile, Cornerstone Christian fell victim to Peoria Christian and their airtight pitching crew on Saturday. They suffered a rough 18-0 defeat at the hands of the Chargers.
Lutheran's loss dropped their record down to 3-9. As for Cornerstone Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-6.
Lutheran's speedy runners might be the difference in Friday's contest. Lutheran has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.3 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Cornerstone Christian, though, as they've been averaging only 0.7. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Lutheran continue to outrun the ball? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
