Baseball Game Preview: Mission Bay Buccaneers vs. Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders

Mission Bay hasn't had much luck against Mater Dei Catholic recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Mission Bay Buccaneers will be taking part in a tournament against the Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders at 4:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Mission Bay has seven straight wins, Mater Dei Catholic has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Mission Bay gave up the first runs on Wednesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They walked away with a 6-3 victory over Hilltop.

Blake Barnes tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.

Owen Oswald

Runs (Career)

03/19/25 @ Hilltop	3
03/04/25 vs Sweetwater	2
03/17/25 vs Monte Vista	1
03/08/25 @ Bishop's	1
03/06/25 @ Chula Vista	1

At the plate, Owen Oswald was excellent, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in runs. Another player making a difference was Taylon Erikson, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.

Meanwhile, Mater Dei Catholic didn't have quite enough to beat Clairemont on Wednesday and fell 4-2.

Mission Bay's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-0. As for Mater Dei Catholic, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.

Mater Dei Catholic's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Mission Bay has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .443. It's a different story for Mater Dei Catholic, though, as they've only averaged .303. Will they be able to contain Mission Bay's hitters?

Mission Bay couldn't quite get it done against Mater Dei Catholic in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 as they fell 7-3. Will Mission Bay have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.