Baseball Game Preview: St. Francis Spartans vs. Marmion Cadets

The St. Francis Spartans will head out to take on the Marmion Cadets at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with St. Francis sitting on 15 straight wins and Marmion on three.

On Tuesday, St. Francis got the win against De La Salle by a conclusive 12-2. The result was nothing new for the Spartans, who have now won 14 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.

Montini Catholic typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Marmion proved too difficult a challenge. They were the clear victors by an 11-1 margin over the Broncos. The Cadets are also no stranger to big wins: their blowout was the tenth game they've won by 6+ runs this season.

Marmion got a great performance from Jack Hughes as he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Hughes has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Ethan Flores was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and one double. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Kevin Schultz, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.

Marmion kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in six consecutive contests.

St. Francis pushed their record up to 19-3 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Marmion, their record is now 16-9-1.

St. Francis skirted past Marmion 2-1 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Do the Spartans have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cadets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.