Baseball Game Preview: Villa Angela-St. Joseph Vikings vs. Kirtland Hornets

The Villa Angela-St. Joseph Vikings are taking a road trip to square off against the Kirtland Hornets at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Kirtland took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Villa Angela-St. Joseph, who comes in off a win.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph can't be too worried about heading out to take on Kirtland: they just beat Hawken at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. The Vikings came out on top against the Hawks by a score of 6-1 on Tuesday.

Chase Polunus spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up six Ks.

Henry Gonakis

Runs

05/13/25 @ Hawken	2
05/09/25 @ Chagrin Falls	2
04/02/25 vs Maple Heights	2

On the hitting side, Henry Gonakis was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Villa Angela-St. Joseph's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-9 when he doesn't). Brandon McBride also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.

Meanwhile, Thursday just wasn't the day for Kirtland's offense. They fell 3-0 to Beachwood on Thursday. The Hornets' loss continues a trend for the team, making it three in a row.

Kirtland also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Xavier Lasecki gave up just two earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits and racked up six Ks.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a massive bump to their 6-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for Kirtland, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-6.

Everything went Villa Angela-St. Joseph's way against Kirtland in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Villa Angela-St. Joseph made off with a 13-7 victory. Do the Vikings have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Hornets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.