Baseball Preview: Goretti Gael vs. Jefferson Cougars
After four games on the road, Goretti is heading back home. They will take on the Jefferson Cougars at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Goretti is headed into the matchup fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victor by an 18-6 margin over University on Saturday.
Warner Harper made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit over 4.1 innings pitched. Harper was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, Goretti let Nick Petruzzello and Will Oates loose on the outfield. Petruzzello went 1-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs, while Oates scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Michael Goldsmith, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
Meanwhile, Jefferson was able to grind out a solid win over Hampshire on Tuesday, taking the game 4-1.
Riley Morgan spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up 16 Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Jefferson's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Jett Gross, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Goretti is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. As for Jefferson, their win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Goretti has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Jefferson struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Goretti suffered a grim 7-1 defeat to Jefferson in their previous matchup two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Jefferson's Ryan Kelly, who struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Now that Goretti knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
