Crossroads Christian hasn't had much luck against Cornerstone Christian recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Warriors will venture away from home to face off against the Crusaders at 2:45 a.m.
Crossroads Christian is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 17 runs last Tuesday, they were much more limited against Calvary Baptist on Tuesday. They came up short against the Cougars, falling 8-0.
Meanwhile, Cornerstone Christian came tearing into Wednesday's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.2 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Rockets a 21-0 shutout. Give the Crusaders' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
Dylan Kelly and Jayden Soto made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Kelly tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Soto tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two hits in six consecutive appearances. At bat, Kelly went 4-for-5 with one home run, three stolen bases, and three runs, while Soto went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. With that strong performance, Kelly is now averaging an impressive 1 stolen bases per game.
In other batting news, David Meinardus and Josh May did most of the damage at the plate: Meinardus went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while May went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those two RBI gave May a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Alec O'Sullivan, who went 3-for-5 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Cornerstone Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .703. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Cornerstone Christian's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-5. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 17.6 runs over those games. As for Crossroads Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.
Crossroads Christian might still be hurting after the 19-0 loss they got from Cornerstone Christian in their previous matchup on April 1st. Can the Warriors avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
