The Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks will head out on the road to face off against the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Archbishop McCarthy's hitters haven't had much luck over their past three games, but Thursday's contest will give them a chance to turn things around.
Archbishop McCarthy came into their game on Tuesday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They lost 8-1 to Chaminade-Madonna. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Mavericks have suffered since March 13th.
Juan Cerra made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one home run.
Meanwhile, St. Thomas Aquinas entered their tilt with Everglades on Wednesday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They were the clear victors by an 11-3 margin over the Gators. That's two games straight that the Raiders have won by exactly eight runs.
Thomas Giltner looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Andrew Alvarez was incredible, firing off two home runs while going 2-for-4. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was CJ Pangallo, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
St. Thomas Aquinas lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now launched at least two home runs in five consecutive matchups.
St. Thomas Aquinas pushed their record up to 18-5-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Archbishop McCarthy, their loss dropped their record down to 13-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Archbishop McCarthy hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like St. Thomas Aquinas struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Archbishop McCarthy might still be hurting after the 11-5 defeat they got from St. Thomas Aquinas when the teams last played back in March. Can the Mavericks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
