The St. Mary Catholic Zephyrs will take on the Howards Grove Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
On Monday, St. Mary Catholic didn't have quite enough to beat Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah and fell 6-5.
Grant Brazzale
| 04/15/25 vs Reedsville | 4 |
| 04/21/25 vs Oshkosh West | 3 |
St. Mary Catholic got a good showing from Grant Brazzale, who pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. The Zephyrs are 2-1 when Brazzale allows one or fewer earned runs, but 2-4 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Joe Pirillo made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. He has become a key player for St. Mary Catholic: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 2-4 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Wagner, who went 2-for-4 with one triple and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Howards Grove was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their eighth straight loss. They lost 8-0 to Cedar Grove-Belgium.
Howards Grove saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Braven Wilson, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one double.
Howards Grove's defeat dropped their record down to 2-13. As for St. Mary Catholic, they dropped their record down to 4-5 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Mary Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Howards Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Mary Catholic came out on top in a nail-biter against Howards Grove when the teams last played back in May of 2023, sneaking past 5-4. Will the Zephyrs repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
