Baseball Game Preview: Iona Prep Gaels vs. Archbishop Molloy Stanners

The Iona Prep Gaels are taking a road trip to face off against the Archbishop Molloy Stanners at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

Iona Prep took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past St. Francis Prep 3-2. The win continues a trend for the Gaels in their matchups with the Terriers: they've now won three in a row.

Shane Jelenevsky tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Devin Diaz, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Julian Guzman was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Molloy entered their tilt with Moore Catholic on Friday with six consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with seven. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Mavericks.

Iona Prep pushed their record up to 23-6-1 with the victory, which was their 14th straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Archbishop Molloy, their victory bumped their record up to 29-6-1.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Iona Prep has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Archbishop Molloy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8 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.