Baseball Game Preview: North Royalton Bears vs. Mentor Cardinals

The North Royalton Bears will venture away from home to face off against the Mentor Cardinals at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

North Royalton took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They walked away with a 6-3 victory over Brecksville-Broadview Heights.

Joe Kinney looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.

Zach Horiba

Hits (Career)

04/24/25 vs Brecksville-Broadview Heights	3
04/01/25 @ Twinsburg	2
04/19/25 vs University School	1
04/12/25 vs Riverside	1
04/10/25 @ Hudson	1

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Zach Horiba, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Cam Saul also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, Mentor got themselves on the board against Brunswick on Thursday, but Brunswick never followed suit. They came out on top against the Blue Devils by a score of 3-0. The Cardinals haven't had any issues with the Blue Devils recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

The result came thanks to Peter Kennedy's shutout, as he gave up just four hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Jake McCartney was excellent, going 1-for-2 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

North Royalton now has a winning record of 6-5. As for Mentor, their record is now 10-2.

North Royalton skirted past Mentor 6-4 in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.