Baseball Recap: Lutheran Picks Up Eighth Consecutive Victory

Crusaders

Previous Games

05/05/25 vs Stillman Valley	10-0
04/29/25 @ Winnebago	7-6
04/28/25 @ Rockford Christian	7-6
04/25/25 vs Rock Falls	6-2
04/24/25 vs Rockford Christian	8-7
+ 3 more games

Lutheran hadn't done well against Stillman Valley recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. The Crusaders put the hurt on the Cardinals with a sharp 10-0 win. The victory was nothing new for the Crusaders as they're now sitting on eight straight.

Bryce Taylor made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over five innings pitched. What's more, he posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two RBI.

In other batting news, Mason Villafuerte and Nate Ling did most of the damage at the plate: Villafuerte went 3-for-4 with three runs, three doubles, and one stolen base, while Ling got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and one double. Ling is becoming a predictor of Lutheran's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 5-7 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Jaxson Schwaneneck, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

Lutheran always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Stillman Valley only posted an OBP of .211.

Lutheran's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-7. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.5 runs on average over those games. As for Stillman Valley, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 6-17.

Lutheran will have a chance to go back-to-back against the Cardinals: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.