Baseball Game Preview: St. Patrick Fighting Irish vs. East Central Hornets

Fighting Irish

Runs

03/03/25 @ Presbyterian Christian	6
03/01/25 vs George County	8
02/28/25 @ Picayune	9
02/25/25 vs Picayune	22
02/22/25 vs West Harrison	5
+ 6 more games

The St. Patrick Fighting Irish will venture away from home to face off against the East Central Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. St. Patrick is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.5 runs per game this season.

St. Patrick took a nine-run loss the last time they faced off against Presbyterian Christian, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. St. Patrick sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-4 win over Presbyterian Christian on Monday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Fighting Irish.

Chandler Marsland tossed a big game, pitching 6.1 innings while giving up four earned runs off six hits. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in April of 2024.

At the plate, St. Patrick's victory was truly a team effort as two different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Chaz Byers, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI.

Meanwhile, East Central didn't have quite enough to beat Harrison Central on Monday and fell 6-5. The Hornets have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Matthew Combs and Christian McFaul did some serious damage despite the final result: Combs went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and two RBI, while McFaul scored a run while going 2-for-3. Those three stolen bases gave Combs a new career-high. Porter Martin was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.

East Central's defeat dropped their record down to 3-6. As for St. Patrick, their record now sits at 7-3-1.

East Central's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. Patrick has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .471. It's a different story for East Central, though, as they've only averaged .313. Will they be able to contain St. Patrick's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.