Baseball Game Preview: Schuylkill Valley Panthers vs. Berks Catholic Saints

The Schuylkill Valley Panthers will head out to challenge the Berks Catholic Saints at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Schuylkill Valley fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against Tulpehocken on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Trojans by a score of 3-2. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Bodie James spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned runs on five hits and racked up seven Ks.

At the plate, Schuylkill Valley saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tristan Goda, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Connor Huggard also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, Berks Catholic came tearing into Friday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Spartans 7-1. The Saints might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by six runs or more this season.

Trey Stricker was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over six innings pitched. Stricker was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.

In other batting news, Owen Schalk was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Aidan Curley was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

Schuylkill Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 3-7. As for Berks Catholic, their record now sits at 6-2.

Schuylkill Valley suffered a grim 9-1 defeat to Berks Catholic when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.