vs
| 04/22/24 - Home | 5-7 L |
| 05/06/23 - Home | 6-3 W |
| 05/07/22 - Home | 7-5 W |
| 04/20/21 - Away | 9-3 W |
| 05/04/19 - Away | 16-10 W |
| + 4 more games |
Belleville West is 8-1 against Althoff Catholic since May of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Maroons will square off against the Crusaders at 4:30 p.m.
O'Fallon hit Belleville West with a four-run seventh inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Maroons fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 7-6. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Chase Boente was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed 6.1 innings while giving up three earned (and four unearned) runs off four hits. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since April 1st.
On the hitting side, Braden Fournie made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Casey Fultz, who went 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Althoff Catholic, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Maryville Christian on Thursday as they made off with a 13-1 win. Considering the Crusaders have won seven games by more than nine runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Josh McPherson and Patton Leib dominated on the mound. McPherson tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits, while Leib tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. McPherson has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in ten consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Althoff Catholic got a massive performance out of Walter Minton, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those three runs gave Minton a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Bo Gomric, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Althoff Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They are 6-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
Althoff Catholic has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-10 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Belleville West, the loss snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 11-7 record.
Belleville West couldn't quite finish off Althoff Catholic in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 and fell 7-5. Can the Maroons avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
