Baseball Preview: Lincoln Christian Crusaders vs. Adams Central Patriots
The Lincoln Christian Crusaders will challenge the Adams Central Patriots at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Both teams have allowed few runs on average, (Lincoln Christian: 3.2, Adams Central: 2.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Lincoln Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Mount Michael Benedictine and snuck past 5-4. Five seems to be a good number for Lincoln Christian as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Grant DeHaan spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered four earned runs on seven hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Eilam Bryson, who went 2-for-2 with a triple, a stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Luke Reiling, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Saturday Adams Central sidestepped Platteview for a 5-3 win.
Nick Conant was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Conant was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
Conant wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jacob Reichstein, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
The victory was the third in a row for Lincoln Christian, bringing their record for this year to 15-4. As for Adams Central, they have been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lincoln Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Adams Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lincoln Christian came up short against Adams Central when the teams last played back in May of 2022, falling 5-1. Thankfully for Lincoln Christian, Creighton Jacobitz (who struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits (and only one walk)) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
