Baseball Recap: Avalon Wins Going Away Against Italy

Eagles

Margin (Wins)

03/07/25 vs Bynum	13
03/31/25 @ Italy	12
03/17/25 vs Non Varsity Opponent	11
03/04/25 @ Dawson	9
03/22/25 @ Non Varsity Opponent	6

Avalon made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Italy, but they still couldn't quite topple them. Avalon put the hurt on Italy with a sharp 14-2 win on Monday. Considering the Eagles have won five matches by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.

John De La Garza and Kaden Houdek made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, De La Garza pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Houdek pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. De La Garza is becoming a predictor of Avalon's success: when he allows at most three hits the team is undefeated (and 3-5-1 when he doesn't). At the plate, De La Garza scored a run while going 2-for-4, while Houdek scored a run while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Josh Novak, who went 3-for-5 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. He has become a key player for Avalon: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 2-5-1 otherwise. Shawn McEwen was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.

Avalon has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-5-1 record this season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 9.75 hits in those games compared to only 5.5 in the others. Italy is on a seven-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-13.

Looking ahead, Avalon will face off against Cross Roads at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Italy, they will take on Frost at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.