For the first time this season, Cathedral Catholic will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will be playing in front of their home fans against the Scripps Ranch Falcons at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Cathedral Catholic's pitching crew has only allowed 2.9 runs per game this season, so Scripps Ranch's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Cathedral Catholic was handed a heart-breaking two-run defeat in their last game, but they sure didn't let that happen against Bonita Vista on Tuesday. The Dons put the hurt on the Barons with a sharp 10-2 victory. The Dons have beaten the Barons the last six times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Barons has come to flipping the script.
Parker Brown looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (two).
On the hitting side, Hunter Harrington was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Trey Gudoy was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, one triple, and one run.
Cathedral Catholic was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .424. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bonita Vista only posted a batting average of .200.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Scripps Ranch, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over St. Augustine on Thursday.
Jake Sakurauchi spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits. Scripps Ranch is 4-1 when Sakurauchi allows one or fewer earned runs, but 2-11 otherwise.
At the plate, Scripps Ranch saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nathan Sablad, who went 2-for-3 with one run.
Cathedral Catholic's victory bumped their record up to 9-6. As for Scripps Ranch, their win was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 6-12.
Scripps Ranch's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Cathedral Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Scripps Ranch, though, as they've been averaging only 4.1 strikeouts. Will Cathedral Catholic keep running through batters, or will the Falcons buck the trend?
Cathedral Catholic skirted past Scripps Ranch 1-0 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Do the Dons have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Falcons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
