Baseball Game Preview: Marquette Crusaders vs. Newman Central Catholic Comets

The Marquette Crusaders are taking a road trip to take on the Newman Central Catholic Comets at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Marquette is coming into the contest hot, having won their last nine games.

On Tuesday, Marquette got the win against Midland by a conclusive 15-5. The Crusaders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 17 matchups by six runs or more this season.

Meanwhile, Newman Central Catholic fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Warren on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 13-12. The Comets have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Ashton Miner was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with three RBI and two doubles.

In other batting news, Joe Oswalt made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBI. Liam Nicklaus was another key player, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with three runs and one double.

Marquette pushed their record up to 26-3 with the win, which was their tenth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.9 runs over those games. As for Newman Central Catholic, their loss dropped their record down to 23-6-1.

Marquette took their win against Newman Central Catholic when the teams last played back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 16-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.