Baseball Game Preview: John Bapst Memorial Crusaders vs. Waterville Panthers

The John Bapst Memorial Crusaders are taking a road trip to square off against the Waterville Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

John Bapst Memorial fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Hermon on Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Hawks by a score of 3-2. The defeat continues a trend for the Crusaders in their meetings with the Hawks: they've now lost four in a row.

Meanwhile, Waterville posted their closest win since May 28, 2024 on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Oceanside 4-2.

Ben Foster spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on five hits and racked up nine Ks.

At the plate, Waterville's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Garrett Gendreau, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs. Milo Taylor was another, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.

Waterville's victory bumped their record up to 4-6. As for John Bapst Memorial, their loss dropped their record down to 3-8.

John Bapst Memorial took their win against Waterville when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 12-2 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.