Baseball Preview: St. George's Gryphons vs. First Assembly Christian Crusaders
The St. George's Gryphons will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the First Assembly Christian Crusaders at 6:30 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
First Assembly Christian is hoping to do on Thursday what Trinity Christian Academy couldn't on Wednesday: put an end to St. George's winning streak, which now stands at four games. St. George's walked away with a 5-1 victory over Trinity Christian Academy.
Quinn Showalter made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over 6.2 innings pitched. Showalter has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Showalter was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with a double and an RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gavin Allen, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Rollin Crose, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, First Assembly Christian beat Jackson Christian 4-1 on Wednesday.
Evan Bloomer spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up 13 Ks.
At the plate, Kayden Hartunian was incredible, going 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Christian Forrest was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
St. George's win bumped their record up to 16-11. As for First Assembly Christian, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-13 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. George's has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like First Assembly Christian 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.
St. George's was able to grind out a solid victory over First Assembly Christian in their previous meeting back in April, winning 5-0. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Bloomer, who struck out 14 batters over 5.1 innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits (and not a single walk). Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will St. George's still be able to contain Bloomer? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
