The Bellarmine College Prep Bells will square off against the Palma Chieftains at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The last three games Bellarmine College Prep has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Bellarmine College Prep is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Carlmont just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Saturday. They fell just short of the Scots by a score of 5-4.
Nate Bateman was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That home run marked the first that he launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Evan Tavarez, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Palma). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Soledad a 16-0 shutout on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Chieftains, who have now won nine matches by seven runs or more so far this season.
Palma also got a great performance from Jackson Harris as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts Harris has posted since back in March of 2024.
On the hitting side, Johnny Carnazzo and Alan Gonzalez did most of the damage at the plate: Carnazzo scored four runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Gonzalez went a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI, three runs, and one double. Those three runs gave Gonzalez a new career-high. Rocco Razzeca was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Palma was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .381. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Soledad only posted a batting average of .067.
Palma has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.9 runs over those games. As for Bellarmine College Prep, their loss dropped their record down to 10-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bellarmine College Prep has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Palma struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
