Bishop Fenwick is preparing for their first league matchup of the season on Monday. They will be playing in front of their home fans against the Cardinal Spellman Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. Bishop Fenwick is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak dating back to last season.
On Friday, Bishop Fenwick didn't have quite enough to beat Westford Academy and fell 6-5. That's two games in a row now that the Crusaders have lost by just one run.
Bishop Fenwick saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Henry Vanfaasen, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cardinal Spellman). They put the hurt on Southeastern RVT with a sharp 18-2 win on Saturday. With that victory, the Cardinals brought their scoring average up to 8 runs per game.
John Petruzzo made a big impact no matter where he played. He pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Petruzzo was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 3-for-3. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, Brady Flaherty was a standout: he scored two runs while going 2-for-2. Jeremy Schapansky was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-2.
Cardinal Spellman was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .520. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive contests.
Cardinal Spellman's win ended a three-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-2. As for Bishop Fenwick, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bishop Fenwick has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Cardinal Spellman struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Bishop Fenwick took their victory against Cardinal Spellman in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 13-1 score. Do the Crusaders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cardinals turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
