The St. Joseph Cadets will venture away from home to square off against the Ludlowe Falcons at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. St. Joseph is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.3 runs per game this season.
St. Joseph had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 14-run drubbing they dealt Bridgeport Central on Wednesday. The Cadets blew past the Hilltoppers 16-2. The victory continues a trend for the Cadets in their matchups with the Hilltoppers: they've now won nine in a row.
St. Joseph got a great performance from Adyson Magliocco as she struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits.
On the hitting side, Sophia Rodriguez was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of MacKenzie Caouette, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
St. Joseph always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .583. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Wednesday as neither Ludlowe nor Norwalk made it on the board until the fifth inning. The Falcons fell 5-2 to the Bears. Having soared to a lofty 16 runs in the game before, the Falcons couldn't push the score so high this time.
Angie Tavella put in work no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over four innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Tavella was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Tavella wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Alexa Mills, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI. Gina Solow also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
St. Joseph pushed their record up to 9-2 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Ludlowe, they now have a losing record of 5-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Joseph has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Ludlowe struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Joseph beat Ludlowe 4-1 in their previous meeting back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cadets since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
