Baseball Game Preview: Holy Cross Crusaders vs. Shepaug Valley Spartans

The Holy Cross Crusaders will challenge the Shepaug Valley Spartans at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Holy Cross 3.1, Shepaug Valley 2.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Holy Cross is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Sunday. They never let North Branford get on the board and left with a 4-0 victory. The win was familiar territory for the Crusaders, who have now won three matchups in a row.

Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Shepaug Valley ultimately got the result they hoped for on Saturday. They won by a run and slipped past Coventry 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Spartans have posted since April 17th.

Peyton Thomas made a splash no matter where he played. He tossed 6.2 innings while giving up four earned runs off seven hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in May.

Thomas wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Domenick Zottola, who went 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. That's the most hits Zottola has posted since back in May of 2024. Another was Rocco Smith, who went 3-for-5 with one stolen base and two RBI.

Shepaug Valley has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Holy Cross, their record is now 11-8.