Baseball Preview: University Red Devils vs. Head-Royce Jayhawks
University has enjoyed a five-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Head-Royce Jayhawks at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
University is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 12-2 margin over St. Vincent de Paul.
Jett Messenger was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and a triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Nick Martin, who went 2-for-2 with four RBI, a triple, and a run.
Meanwhile, Head-Royce waltzed into their matchup on Friday with four straight wins... but they left with five. Everything went their way against the Crusaders as they made off with a 9-3 victory.
Matthew Wong made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits. Wong was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Head-Royce let Kaden Choi and Kento Tsuji loose on the outfield. Choi scored two runs while going 1-for-3, while Tsuji scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
University pushed their record up to 20-7 with that win, which was their sixth straight at home. As for Head-Royce, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. University has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Head-Royce struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
University came up short against Head-Royce when the teams last played back in March, falling 7-2. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Head-Royce's Ezra Goldfarb, who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Now that University knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
