The St. Patrick-St. Vincent Bruins will challenge the Branson Bulls at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. St. Patrick-St. Vincent is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.6 runs per game this season.
If St. Patrick-St. Vincent beats Branson with eight runs on Saturday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. St. Patrick-St. Vincent walked away with an 8-5 win over Hercules on Thursday. While the Bruins didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Mathew Thacker spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and three unearned) runs on nine hits.
Bo Smith
| 03/20/25 @ Hercules | 5 |
| 02/28/24 vs Bethel | 4 |
| 04/26/24 vs Albany | 3 |
| 04/20/24 vs Washington | 3 |
| 03/08/25 @ St. Joseph Notre Dame | 2 |
At the plate, Bo Smith and Madden Mendez did most of the damage at the plate: Smith scored two runs and stole Five bases. while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Mendez scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-4. Those five stolen bases gave Smith a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Anthony Eyheralde, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Branson entered their tilt with San Domenico on Wednesday with two consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with three. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Panthers an 8-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Bulls, who have now won three games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Holden Cane and Tom Lardner made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Cane pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Lardner pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Cane also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Branson is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-3 otherwise. At the plate, Cane scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2, while Lardner went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Those stolen bases marked the first that Lardner snagged this season.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Mo Jacoby, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI and one double. Leo Diaz was another, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
Branson pushed their record up to 4-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to strikeouts: they averaged an imposing 9.25 strikeouts in those games compared to only 3.5 in the others. As for St. Patrick-St. Vincent, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season.
