The St. Anthony's Friars will square off against the Poly Prep Country Day Blue Devils at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (St. Anthony's 2.5, Poly Prep Country Day 4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Poly Prep Country Day will be up against a hot St. Anthony's squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. The Friars walked away with a 12-8 win over Long Island Lutheran on Wednesday. 12 seems to be a good number for the Friars as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Thomas Walsh looked comfortable as he pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Michael Carr was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Matt Francisci, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Poly Prep Country Day, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Wednesday. They came out on top against St. Joseph-by-the-Sea by a score of 4-1 on Wednesday.
Justice De Jong spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on three hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Owen Ten Oever, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. He also put up an RBI, which was his first of the season.
Poly Prep Country Day's win was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-2. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for St. Anthony's, their win bumped their record up to 4-0.
Poly Prep Country Day's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. Anthony's hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .313. It's a different story for Poly Prep Country Day, though, as they've only averaged .204. Will they be able to contain St. Anthony's hitters?
St. Anthony's came up short against Poly Prep Country Day when the teams last played back in May of 2024, falling 8-4. Will the Friars have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
