Baseball Game Preview: Notre Dame Cristo Rey Panthers vs. Salem Academy Charter Navigator

The Notre Dame Cristo Rey Panthers will challenge the Salem Academy Charter Navigator at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Notre Dame Cristo Rey will aim to continue their four-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.

Notre Dame Cristo Rey is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They and Nashoba Valley Tech finished up on equal footing with an 18-18 tie on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Salem Academy Charter entered their tilt with Cathedral on Thursday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Panthers a 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Navigator, who have now won three games by ten runs or more so far this season.

Yuriel Gonzalez Vargas made a big impact no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 17 over six innings pitched. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Salem Academy Charter is undefeated when he allows at most one walk, but 3-4 otherwise. Gonzalez Vargas was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.

In other batting news, Jose Reyna was excellent, going 3-for-4 with four RBI. Another player making a difference was Emilio Saez, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.

Salem Academy Charter was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive contests.

Salem Academy Charter's victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-4. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. Notre Dame Cristo Rey's tie gives them a new season record of 0-6-1.

Notre Dame Cristo Rey might still be hurting after the 10-0 loss they got from Salem Academy Charter in their previous matchup back in April. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.