Baseball Game Preview: Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders vs. Hilltop Lancers

For the second straight game, Mater Dei Catholic will face off against Hilltop. The Crusaders will welcome the Lancers at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Mater Dei Catholic has three straight victories, Hilltop has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

If Mater Dei Catholic beats Hilltop with six runs on Friday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. The Crusaders came out on top in a nail-biter against the Lancers on Wednesday, sneaking past 6-5. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since May 5, 2023, but that streak is no more.

Joey Castillo

Doubles (Career)

04/09/25 @ Hilltop	2
04/08/25 @ Monte Vista	1
04/03/25 @ Westview	1
03/29/25 vs Crescenta Valley	1
03/29/25 vs Crescenta Valley	1

Joey Castillo was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Jean Pierre Noury, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.

Mater Dei Catholic pushed their record up to 7-11 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Hilltop, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-12.