Baseball Preview: Nazareth Area Blue Eagles vs. William Allen Canaries
The Nazareth Area Blue Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the William Allen Canaries at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Nazareth Area can now show off four landslide victories after their most recent matchup on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 13-3 margin over Pleasant Valley. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Nazareth Area.
Aidan Butz made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off three hits. Butz has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Butz was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Landon Glovas looked comfortable as he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks).
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on David Bertz, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and a triple. Matt Daems was another key contributor, going 1-for-4 with four RBI, a stolen base, and a run.
Meanwhile, William Allen has not done well against Stroudsburg recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. William Allen had just enough and edged Stroudsburg out 2-1.
Like Nazareth Area, William Allen also got a great game from a two-way player: Aaron Schneider. He tossed six innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Schneider was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.
Schneider wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Trevor Golden, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Nazareth Area has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 4-2 record this season. As for William Allen, their win ended a four-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 4-5.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Nazareth Area has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like William Allen struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.9. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Nazareth Area skirted past William Allen 4-2 when the teams last played back in May of 2022. The rematch might be a little tougher for Nazareth Area since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
