Baseball Game Preview: King's Academy Lions vs. Cardinal Newman Crusaders

The King's Academy Lions will square off against the Cardinal Newman Crusaders on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (King's Academy 3.4, Cardinal Newman 2.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.

King's Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Saint Andrew's 7-5. The Lions haven't had any issues with the Scots recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Newman hadn't done well against St. John Paul II Academy recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Crusaders came out on top in a nail-biter against the Eagles, sneaking past 3-2. Three seems to be a good number for the Crusaders as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Blake Anderson spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on four hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Gabriel Acevedo was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. Finn Duran also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.

The victory made it two in a row for Cardinal Newman and bumps their season record up to 22-3-1. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 2 run in those games. As for King's Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 16-5.

King's Academy couldn't quite get it done against Cardinal Newman in their previous matchup back in February as they fell 6-1. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.