Softball Game Preview: Berks Catholic Saints vs. Hamburg Hawks

Berks Catholic hasn't had much luck against Hamburg recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Saints will challenge the Hawks at 4:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Berks Catholic's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over Oley Valley. The Saints haven't had any issues with the Lynx recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.

Giana Mirenda

Batters Struck Out

04/16/25 @ Oley Valley	8
03/31/25 vs Hamburg	7
03/28/25 @ Fleetwood	7
03/25/25 @ Reading	10
03/20/25 vs Northern York	12
03/19/25 vs Lampeter-Strasburg	8

Giana Mirenda made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out eight over five innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. What's more, she posted four RBI, the most she's had since back in May of 2024.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Emily Schearer, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Hailey Achenbach also deserves some recognition as she got her first hits of the season.

Meanwhile, Hamburg came tearing into Wednesday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.2 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Trojans as they made off with a 15-1 win.

Hamburg pushed their record up to 13-2 with the victory, which was their eighth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Berks Catholic, their record now sits at 3-6.

Berks Catholic suffered a grim 15-1 defeat to Hamburg when the teams last played back in March. Can the Saints avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.