Baseball Preview: New Creation Christian Academy Crusaders vs. Lafayette Christian Cougars
New Creation Christian Academy is 0-4 against Lafayette Christian since March of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The New Creation Christian Academy Crusaders will head out on the road to face off against the Lafayette Christian Cougars at 10:30 a.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
New Creation Christian Academy is headed into the matchup fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Young Americans Christian 13-1. The victory was nothing new for New Creation Christian Academy as they're now sitting on four straight.
The team relied heavily on Cade Anderson, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs, and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Horton, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-1.
Meanwhile, Lafayette Christian put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season two weeks ago. They put the hurt on Sherwood Christian Academy with a sharp 13-1 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Lafayette Christian.
Paul Batastini made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Batastini has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Batastini was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Whit Bowden looked comfortable as he pitched 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits.
Back at the plate, Lafayette Christian let David Karvelas and Matt Latour loose on the outfield. Karvelas scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3, while Latour got on base in three of his four plate appearances with four RBI, a stolen base, and a run. Another player making a difference was Noah Childree, who scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
New Creation Christian Academy's record is now 6-12. As for Lafayette Christian, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 11-8 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. New Creation Christian Academy has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lafayette Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
New Creation Christian Academy came up short against Lafayette Christian when the teams last played back in March of 2023, falling 4-1. Can New Creation Christian Academy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
