Baseball Game Preview: Santa Clara Saints vs. Villanova Prep Wildcats

The Santa Clara Saints will face off against the Villanova Prep Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Santa Clara made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Dunn, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Saints fell just short of the Earwigs by a score of 7-5 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Saints have suffered against the Earwigs since May 19, 2021.

Lucas Mendez was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, going 1-for-3 with four stolen bases, three runs, and one double.

In other batting news, Christopher Alcala was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Alex Ambriz, who went 1-for-4 with three stolen bases and one double.

Meanwhile, Villanova Prep was not able to break out of their rough patch two weeks ago as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They lost 9-2 to Santa Clara. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Wildcats have suffered against the Saints since April 5, 2019.

Villanova Prep's defeat dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Santa Clara, they dropped their record down to 1-13 with the loss, which was their seventh straight on the road.

Everything went Santa Clara's way against Villanova Prep when the teams last played two weeks ago, as Santa Clara made off with a 9-2 win. Will the Saints repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.