Baseball Game Preview: Roncalli Royals vs. New Palestine Dragons

The Roncalli Royals will face off against the New Palestine Dragons at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Roncalli is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. Everything went their way against Greenwood as they made off with a 7-1 win. Seven seems to be a good number for the Royals as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Roncalli got a big performance out of Rudy Schoettle, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs. That's the most runs Schoettle has posted since back in May. The team also got some help courtesy of Sam Roeder, who went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases.

Meanwhile, New Palestine got themselves on the board against Indian Creek on Saturday, but Indian Creek never followed suit. They put the hurt on the Braves with a sharp 10-0 win. The victory was familiar territory for the Dragons, who have now won eight matches in a row.

The team relied heavily on Kingston Hedges, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI and one run. Jackson Kamp was another key player, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with two RBI and one double.

New Palestine always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .586. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Indian Creek only posted an OBP of .238.

Roncalli has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 15 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 24-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for New Palestine, their record is now 22-3.

Monday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Roncalli has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .450. However, it's not like New Palestine struggles in that department as they've averaged .431. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.

Roncalli beat New Palestine 13-8 in their previous matchup back in May of 2018. Do the Royals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Dragons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.