The Nazareth Area Blue Eagles will take on the Bethlehem Catholic Hawks at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Nazareth Area will be strutting in after a win while Bethlehem Catholic will be coming in after a defeat.
Nazareth Area's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against East Stroudsburg South as they made off with a 15-0 victory. The Blue Eagles haven't had any issues with the Cavaliers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Carson Steingall and Ryan Petruska did most of the damage at the plate: Steingall went 2-for-3 with four stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI, while Petruska went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Those four stolen bases gave Steingall a new career-high. Bobby Grzenda was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs.
Nazareth Area always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .641. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as East Stroudsburg South only posted an OBP of .167.
Meanwhile, Bethlehem Catholic was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss dating back to last season. They lost 15-5 to Pocono Mountain West.
Aidan Brophy made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Bethlehem Catholic's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Nazareth Area, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Bethlehem Catholic's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Nazareth Area hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .381. It's a different story for Bethlehem Catholic, though, as they've only averaged .162. Will they be able to contain Nazareth Area's hitters?
Nazareth Area beat Bethlehem Catholic 8-4 in their previous matchup back in April of 2025. Do the Blue Eagles have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Hawks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
