The Xaverian Brothers Hawks will venture away from home to face off against the King Philip Regional Warriors at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Xaverian Brothers 3.1, King Philip Regional 2.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Xaverian Brothers is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Massachusetts' top teams: Bishop Feehan, who was ranked third at the time (Xaverian Brothers was ranked fifth). The Hawks fell 4-1 to the Shamrocks on Wednesday. Having soared to a lofty ten runs in the game before, the Hawks couldn't push the score so high this time.
Xaverian Brothers got a good showing from Colin Mont, who struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and not a single walk). Mont has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Xaverian Brothers saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mike O'Keefe, who went 1-for-3 with one triple and one run. That triple marked the first that O'Keefe has hit this season.
King Philip Regional hadn't beaten Attleboro on the road since April 28, 2022 but that history sure didn't bother them on Wednesday. The Warriors had just enough and edged out the Bombardiers 2-1.
Ryan Higgins spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on six hits and racked up seven Ks.
King Philip Regional's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 16-4. As for Xaverian Brothers, the defeat snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 14-4 record.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Xaverian Brothers has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like King Philip Regional struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Xaverian Brothers beat King Philip Regional 8-3 in their previous meeting back in June of 2021. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hawks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
