vs
| 02/17/25 - Home | 2-0 W |
| 04/13/24 - Home | 8-5 W |
| 02/10/24 - Away | 5-1 W |
St. Paul has gone a perfect 3-0 against Norwalk recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The St. Paul Swordsmen are headed away from home for the first time to challenge the Norwalk Lancers at 10:00 a.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (St. Paul: 1.6, Norwalk: 4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
St. Paul is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering La Salle just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of the Lancers by a score of 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Swordsmen have suffered since February 23, 2024.
Angelo Patino and Richie Avina stepped up to the plate in a big way. Patino went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI, while Avina went 1-for-3 with one home run and two runs. That's the most RBI Patino has posted since back in April of 2024. Marcus Munoz also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Even though they lost, St. Paul lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Norwalk). They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-5 victory over Maywood CES on Wednesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Lancers.
Hector Alvarado was excellent, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
Having lost for the first time this season, St. Paul fell to 4-1. As for Norwalk, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Paul has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Norwalk struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Paul skirted past Norwalk 2-0 in their previous matchup two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Paul since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
