The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will take on the Lakeland Christian Vikings at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Tampa Catholic will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs last Tuesday, then bounced right back against Sumner on Friday. Tampa Catholic walked away with a 17-12 victory over Sumner.
Olivia Ricciardi made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and nine unearned) runs off 13 hits. Ricciardi was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in hits (two).
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Josslynn Grimsley, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, six RBI, and three runs. Another player making a difference was Jada Johnson, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Lakeland Christian put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 9-8 W against Lake Gibson. That's two games straight that the Vikings have won by just one run.
Cali Thornton was incredible, going 1-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Paityn Donalson was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
Lakeland Christian hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most three strikeouts every time they've taken the field this season.
Lakeland Christian's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-0. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs over those games. As for Tampa Catholic, the victory got them back to even at 1-1.
Tampa Catholic was able to grind out a solid win over Lakeland Christian in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, winning 12-8. Does Tampa Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lakeland Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
