Baseball Game Preview: Central Catholic Vikings vs. Montour Spartans

The Central Catholic Vikings are taking a road trip to challenge the Montour Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Central Catholic had taken Taylor Allderdice down for three straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Tuesday. The Vikings took a 6-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Dragons.

Josh McFadden

Base on Balls Against

05/06/25 vs Taylor Allderdice	2
04/23/25 @ Butler	2
04/17/25 @ North Allegheny	1

Josh McFadden was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.

Montour came out on top against Ellwood City on Monday thanks in part to the team's impressive eight-run first inning. The Spartans put the hurt on the Wolverine with a sharp 11-1 win. Considering the Spartans have won seven contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.

Cyprian Slifkey looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Matteo Weber, who went 2-for-3 with three runs and one stolen base. He has become a key player for Montour: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 5-7 otherwise. Zachary Ciamacco was another key player, getting on base in two of his three plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.

Montour always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ellwood City only posted an OBP of .350.

Montour is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Central Catholic, they dropped their record down to 5-12 with the defeat, which was their sixth straight at home.

Central Catholic skirted past Montour 9-7 in their previous meeting back in March of 2021. Will the Vikings repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.