Baseball Preview: Lincoln Christian Crusaders vs. Gross Catholic Cougars
The Lincoln Christian Crusaders will be staying on the road on Tuesday to face off against the Gross Catholic Cougars at 5:00 p.m. Lincoln Christian's pitching crew has only allowed three runs per game this season, so Gross Catholic's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Lincoln Christian put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season in their second game on Saturday. They blew past South Sioux City 17-1.
Grant DeHaan made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (he also only allowed one walk). DeHaan has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. DeHaan was also solid in the batter's box, going 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Luke Reiling, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with a triple, a stolen base, and a run. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last four games he's played. Drew Mittan was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Gross Catholic came up short against Blair on Monday and fell 7-4. Gross Catholic has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Griff Pechar made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Carson Kozeal, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Lincoln Christian pushed their record up to 10-2 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 12.3 runs. As for Gross Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Lincoln Christian has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Gross Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.2. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Lincoln Christian couldn't quite finish off Gross Catholic in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 and fell 3-1. Thankfully for Lincoln Christian, Connor Capece (who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks)) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
