Softball Game Preview: Canterbury Crusaders vs. Bradenton Christian Panthers

Canterbury is a perfect 5-0 against Bradenton Christian since March of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. Canterbury will head out on the road to challenge Bradenton Christian at 6:00 p.m. Canterbury will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.

Having struggled with six losses in a row, Canterbury turned things around against Seffner Christian two weeks ago. They put the hurt on Seffner Christian with a sharp 12-6 victory. The matchup marked Canterbury's most dominant win of the season so far.

Addie Baust spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered five runs (all of which were unearned) on four hits.

Cali Baust

Stolen Base

03/13/25 @ Seffner Christian	6
03/11/25 vs Lakeland Christian	1
03/10/25 vs East Lake	2
03/04/25 @ Clearwater	4
03/01/25 @ Mount Dora Christian Academy	1
+ 3 more games

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Cali Baust, who scored five runs and stole six bases while going 5-for-5. Baust is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: she's snagged at least one every time she's taken the field this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Kenzie Tucker, who scored two runs and stole six bases while going 3-for-4.

Baust wasn't the only one working in the hit department: Canterbury kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Bradenton Christian). They blew past Braden River 23-8 on Monday. The Panthers not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since April 15, 2024.

The victory made it two in a row for Bradenton Christian and bumps their season record up to 3-5. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 17.0 runs over those games. As for Canterbury, they picked up their first road victory, bumping their record up to 3-7.

Canterbury took their win against Bradenton Christian in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 12-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for Canterbury since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.