Baseball Game Preview: North Valley Knights vs. St. Mary's Crusaders

The North Valley Knights are taking a road trip to take on the St. Mary's Crusaders at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (North Valley has seven straight wins, St. Mary's has 13 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

On Friday, North Valley got the win against Rogue River by a conclusive 22-3. Considering the Knights have won seven games by more than nine runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Cascade Christian hit St. Mary's with a four-run sixth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Crusaders came up short against the Challengers, falling 11-1. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since April 26, 2019, but that streak is no more.

Tyler Archie was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.

North Valley's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-5. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.0 runs over those games. As for St. Mary's, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-15.

Everything went North Valley's way against St. Mary's in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as North Valley made off with a 15-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Knights since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.