Baseball Preview: Okeechobee Brahmans vs. Cardinal Newman Crusaders
Okeechobee has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge the Cardinal Newman Crusaders at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Okeechobee managed to slip by St. Albans the last time these teams faced off, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Okeechobee wound up on the wrong side of a rough 12-1 walloping at the hands of St. Albans on Saturday. Having soared to a lofty ten runs in the game before, Okeechobee couldn't push the score so high this time.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Newman waltzed into their match on Tuesday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They skirted past the Buccaneers 6-5. Six seems to be a good number for Cardinal Newman as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Sam Lovitz looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off four hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. Blake Anderson came in to relieve Lovitz and was airtight, giving up no runs, hits or walks in his three innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Dominic Demarzo and Carl Calixte did most of the damage at the plate: Demarzo scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Calixte scored a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Gabe Acevedo was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Okeechobee's loss dropped their record down to 7-7. As for Cardinal Newman, they pushed their record up to 11-3-1 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home.
Okeechobee skirted past Cardinal Newman 2-1 when the teams last played back in April of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Okeechobee since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
