Baseball Preview: Lutheran West Longhorns vs. Benedictine Bengals
The Lutheran West Longhorns will look to defend their home field on Tuesday against the Benedictine Bengals at 7:00 p.m. Lutheran West is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10.8 runs per game this season.
Lutheran West lost 15-6 to Holy Name on Thursday.
Bryce Groppe and Adam Flachbart did some serious damage despite the final result: Groppe scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Flachbart scored a run and stole three bases while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Eric Dill, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Benedictine had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7 runs), and they went ahead and made it five on Monday. They won by a run and slipped past the Beavers 3-2.
Benedictine also got a great performance from Nathan Zavoda as he pitched 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Zavoda has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Michael Grobelny was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances. Jackson Stoltz was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Lutheran West has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-5 record this season. As for Benedictine, they pushed their record up to 12-6 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home.
Benedictine's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lutheran West hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .335. It's a different story for Benedictine, though, as they've only averaged .236. Will they be able to contain Lutheran West's hitters?
Lutheran West was able to grind out a solid win over Benedictine in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, winning 5-1. Will Lutheran West repeat their success, or does Benedictine have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
