Marmion and St. Francis are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2017, but likely not for long. The Cadets will challenge the Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Marmion has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with five straight losses, while St. Francis will come in with four straight victories.
Marmion will face St. Francis after dropping another heartbreaker against Montini Catholic on Saturday, which marked the second time in a row the team's come within two of beating them. The Cadets fell just short of the Broncos by a score of 6-5.
Ryan Nierman
| 05/02/26 vs Montini Catholic | 1 |
| 04/28/26 vs Saint Ignatius College Prep | 1 |
| 04/25/26 @ Leo | 0 |
| 04/08/26 @ Westmont | 1 |
| 03/27/26 @ Plainfield North | 1 |
| 03/21/26 vs DeKalb | 2 |
Marmion got a good showing from Ryan Nierman, who pitched 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Nierman has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Brendan Kavanaugh made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Emmit Collins, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but St. Francis ultimately got the result they hoped for on Saturday. They won by a run and slipped past De La Salle 10-9.
Chase Grigonis was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched three innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. Grigonis was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. He has become a key player for St. Francis: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 7-9 otherwise.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jules Hoecker, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one home run and three runs. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Mathew Griifin was another key player, going 2-for-5 with two RBI and one double.
St. Francis lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
St. Francis' record now sits at 14-9. As for Marmion, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-14.
Marmion might still be hurting after the 9-0 loss they got from St. Francis in their previous matchup back in May of 2025. Can the Cadets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
