Baseball Game Preview: Iona Prep Gaels vs. Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers

The Iona Prep Gaels will venture away from home to square off against the Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Iona Prep will be looking to extend their current nine-game winning streak.

Iona Prep had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 11-run drubbing they dealt Monsignor Scanlan on Thursday. The Gaels put the hurt on the Crusaders with a sharp 11-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Gaels, who have now won 11 matches by seven runs or more so far this season.

Iona Prep got a great performance from Andrew Catalic as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched.

On the hitting side, Dylan Merola was a standout: he got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs. Kendrick Jorge was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple.

Iona Prep always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .562. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Monsignor Scanlan only posted an OBP of .125.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Spalding faced Mount St. Joseph in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Cavaliers fell just short of the Gaels by a score of 5-4. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Iona Prep's victory was their tenth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-3-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Archbishop Spalding, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 21-9 record this season.