Baseball Game Preview: Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders vs. Otay Ranch Mustangs

The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders will face off against the Otay Ranch Mustangs at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Mater Dei Catholic will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.

If Mater Dei Catholic beats Otay Ranch with seven runs on Friday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. The Crusaders' pitchers stepped up to hand Olympian a 7-0 shutout on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Crusaders have posted against the Eagles since May 11, 2021.

The team relied heavily on Noah Cook, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Nikolas Edwards, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

Hilltop hit Otay Ranch with a four-run fifth inning on Wednesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Mustangs fell 6-1 to the Lancers. Mustangs fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Lancers since on Wednesday.

Otay Ranch's loss dropped their record down to 18-9. As for Mater Dei Catholic, they now have a winning record of 14-13.

Mater Dei Catholic skirted past Otay Ranch 3-2 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Will the Crusaders repeat their success, or do the Mustangs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.