Baseball Game Preview: St. Augustine Saints vs. Del Norte Nighthawks

The St. Augustine Saints will take on the Del Norte Nighthawks in a tournament on Thursday. St. Augustine's pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so Del Norte's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

St. Augustine is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Poway with a sharp 12-6 victory on Wednesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Saints.

Jonny Haskett

Batters Struck Out

04/02/25 @ Poway	4
05/10/24 @ Cathedral Catholic	2
04/29/24 vs El Camino	6

Declan Higgins and Jonny Haskett dominated on the mound. Higgins pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits, while Haskett pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. What's more, Haskett posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April of 2024.

On the hitting side, St. Augustine let Nathan Balkenbush and Anthony Tompkins run wild. Balkenbush went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Tompkins went 2-for-4 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. That's the most hits Balkenbush has posted since back in March of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Shane Miranda, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.

St. Augustine hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post two or more strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Del Norte came up short against San Marcos on Wednesday and fell 9-6. The Nighthawks have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Grey Gusich made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one home run. Emmet Lucey was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-1.

St. Augustine's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-5. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Del Norte, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-6.