Cardinal Newman is on a three-game streak of home wins, while St. Mary is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Cardinals will be taking part in a tournament against the Rams at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Cardinal Newman 3.1, St. Mary's 2.3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
The home team had won the previous six meetings between Cardinal Newman and Ukiah, and Cardinal Newman kept the tradition alive. The Cardinals' pitcher stepped up to hand the Wildcats a 1-0 shutout on Friday.
Not much got past Josh Jannicelli, who gave up just two hits and racked up nine Ks to keep Ukiah off the board. Jannicelli has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Cardinal Newman's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Jacob Wood, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, St. Mary's got the win against Kimball on Friday by a conclusive 13-6. The Rams might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matches by seven runs or more this season.
Dominic Franco looked comfortable as he pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Dax Hardcastle, who went 2-for-5 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was David Haggerty, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
St. Mary's kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in May of 2024.
St. Mary's win bumped their record up to 13-4. As for Cardinal Newman, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cardinal Newman has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. Mary's struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cardinal Newman came out on top in a nail-biter against St. Mary's in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, sneaking past 2-0. Will the Cardinals repeat their success, or do the Rams have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
