Saint Francis Catholic hasn't had much luck against Dixie County recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Wolves will be playing at home against the Bears at 4:30 p.m. Saint Francis Catholic will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
Saint Francis Catholic is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Seven Rivers Christian with a sharp 17-5 win on Thursday. The Wolves might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by seven runs or more this season.
Liam Green looked comfortable as he pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.
At the plate, Saint Francis Catholic got a massive performance out of Andy Janelle, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Dylan Diaz, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Saint Francis Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in five consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Dixie County suffered their closest defeat since April 29, 2024 on Thursday. They fell just short of Chiefland by a score of 8-6.
Joel Lord made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. Dixie County is 2-1 when Lord posts three or more RBI, but 5-12 otherwise. Jaheim Taylor was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Saint Francis Catholic pushed their record up to 16-6 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.3 runs over those games. As for Dixie County, their loss dropped their record down to 7-13.
Dixie County's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Saint Francis Catholic hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .325. It's a different story for Dixie County, though, as they've only averaged .243. Will they be able to contain Saint Francis Catholic's hitters?
Saint Francis Catholic was able to grind out a solid victory over Dixie County in their previous meeting back in March, winning 9-4. Do the Wolves have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bears turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
