Baseball Game Preview: Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders vs. Hilltop Lancers

Crusaders

Runs

05/11/26 vs Olympian	3
05/07/26 @ Montgomery	6
05/05/26 vs Montgomery	9
04/30/26 vs Hilltop	7
04/28/26 @ Hilltop	2
+ 19 more games

Mater Dei Catholic and Hilltop are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2023, but likely not for long. The Crusaders will square off against the Lancers at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Mater Dei Catholic is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.

Mater Dei Catholic managed to slip by Olympian the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Crusaders lost 10-3 to the Eagles on Monday. The Crusaders' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Marc Moran was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.

Meanwhile, Hilltop suffered their biggest loss since March 5th on Monday. They came up short against Montgomery, falling 10-4. The Lancers haven't had much luck with the Aztecs recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.

Alexandro Cardenas made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Victor Moreno, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one double.

Mater Dei Catholic's defeat dropped their record down to 14-10. As for Hilltop, their loss dropped their record down to 11-14.

Hilltop's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Mater Dei Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Hilltop, though, as they've been averaging only 3.9 strikeouts. Will Mater Dei Catholic keep running through batters, or will the Lancers buck the trend?

Mater Dei Catholic skirted past Hilltop 7-5 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.