Heritage Christian is on a three-game streak of home wins, while St. Francis is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Patriots will host the Mariners at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Heritage Christian is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Kenosha Bradford just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Monday. They came up short against the Red Devils, falling 10-2.
Heritage Christian saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was F. Siebert, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask St. Francis). They put the hurt on Milwaukee Lutheran with a sharp 19-1 victory on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Mariners, who have now won nine games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Zach Perry made a splash no matter where he played. He struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with four stolen bases and three runs. Those four stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Andrew Xolot, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most hits he has posted over his last eight matches. Kingston Liddell was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
St. Francis always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .588. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive contests.
St. Francis has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 games. That's provided a massive bump to their 12-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.6 runs over those games. As for Heritage Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Heritage Christian has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like St. Francis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Heritage Christian beat St. Francis 6-3 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Will the Patriots repeat their success, or do the Mariners have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
