Baseball Preview: Archbishop Wood Vikings vs. Neumann-Goretti Saints
The Archbishop Wood Vikings will head out on the road to take on the Neumann-Goretti Saints at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Archbishop Wood is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 11 runs on Thursday, they were much more limited against Archbishop Ryan on Monday. They fell just short of the Raiders and Ragdolls by a score of 3-2.
Richie Bayachek was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Archbishop Wood saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Chase Cavallaro, who went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Neumann-Goretti fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Cardinal O'Hara on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 9-6 to the Lions.
Billy Smith was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Will Gural, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Neumann-Goretti hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That's the fewest strikeouts they've managed all season.
Archbishop Wood has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-7 record this season. As for Neumann-Goretti, their record is now 12-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Archbishop Wood has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Neumann-Goretti struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Archbishop Wood suffered a grim 10-3 defeat to Neumann-Goretti in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Can Archbishop Wood avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
