Baseball Game Preview: North Saxons vs. Venice Gondoliers

The North Saxons will take on the Venice Gondoliers at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.

North is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Palos Verdes just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They came up short against the Sea Kings, falling 10-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Saxons have suffered against the Sea Kings since March 7, 2019.

Nolan Shiroma

Hits Against

03/19/25 @ Peninsula	3
03/28/25 @ Wiseburn- Da Vinci	2
02/22/25 vs Palos Verdes	2
02/18/25 @ Bishop Montgomery	2
04/11/25 vs Palos Verdes	1

North got a good showing from Nolan Shiroma, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Shiroma has become a key player for the Saxons: the team is 3-1 when he allows at most one hit, but 5-9 otherwise.

At the plate, Nicky Gonzalez was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 4-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Sei Nagashima, who scored two runs while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Venice came tearing into Saturday's match with eight straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They never let the Cougars get on the board and left with a 7-0 victory. The Gondoliers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by seven runs or more this season.

Venice's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for North, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-10.

North skirted past Venice 3-2 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Do the Saxons have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Gondoliers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.