Baseball Game Preview: Granite City Warriors vs. Marquette Catholic Explorers

The Granite City Warriors will take on the Marquette Catholic Explorers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The timing isn't great for Granite City: they have been struggling with five straight losses at home, while Marquette Catholic has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road.

Last Tuesday, Granite City came up short against O'Fallon and fell 7-2.

Granite City saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Zaiden Kelley, who scored a run while going 1-for-2. Brenden Hard also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, Marquette Catholic beat Althoff Catholic 11-6 on Thursday.

Marquette Catholic also got a great performance from Jack Pruitt as he tossed six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits.

On the hitting side, Eli Rodgers was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, seven RBI, and two doubles. Those seven RBI gave him a new career-high. Will Fahnestock was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.

Marquette Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive matchups.

Marquette Catholic has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.6 runs over those games. As for Granite City, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.

Granite City couldn't quite finish off Marquette Catholic in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 and fell 5-3. Will the Warriors have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.