The Lincoln Christian Crusaders will face off against the Lincoln Northwest Falcons at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lincoln Christian has three straight victories, Lincoln Northwest has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Tuesday, Lincoln Christian was able to grind out a solid win over Gross Catholic, taking the game 7-3.
Caleb DeWitt and Grant DeHaan made a splash no matter where they played. Throwing, DeWitt pitched six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off nine hits. Meanwhile, DeHaan pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. At bat, DeWitt got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two RBI, while DeHaan went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That triple was DeHaan's first of the season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ian Brester, who went 2-for-3 with two runs.
Lincoln Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .357 or higher in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Lincoln Northwest came up short against Lincoln Lutheran on Tuesday and fell 7-4.
Lincoln Northwest saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Quenten Lange, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Lincoln Northwest's loss dropped their record down to 6-12. As for Lincoln Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 8-4.
Lincoln Northwest's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lincoln Christian hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .347. It's a different story for Lincoln Northwest, though, as they've only averaged .247. Will they be able to contain Lincoln Christian's hitters?
Lincoln Christian came out on top in a nail-biter against Lincoln Northwest in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. Do the Crusaders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Falcons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
