| 04/16/25 - Away | 7-8 L |
| 05/03/24 - Away | 1-3 L |
| 04/17/24 - Home | 9-7 W |
| 05/15/23 - Home | 20-2 W |
| 04/24/23 - Away | 15-5 W |
| + 5 more games |
New Life Academy has gone 8-2 against St. Croix Lutheran recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Eagles will be playing in front of their home fans against the Crusaders at 4:30 p.m. The timing is sure in New Life Academy's favor as the team sits on four straight wins at home while St. Croix Lutheran has been banged up by seven consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.
While New Life Academy didn't have the best season last year (they finished 2-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past Mayer Lutheran 11-1 on Thursday. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won three contests by ten runs or more so far this season.
Nate Duval was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing six innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Duval was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three runs and one double.
In other batting news, Lucas Larson and Noah Hahn did most of the damage at the plate: Larson went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI, while Hahn got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. That home run marked the first that Larson has launched this season. Another player making a difference was Gavin McCulloch, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
New Life Academy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .435. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .318 or higher in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, St. Croix Lutheran hadn't done well against St. Croix Prep recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Crusaders sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over the Lions. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Crusaders have posted against the Lions since April 29, 2022.
St. Croix Lutheran saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Noah Little, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Little is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played.
St. Croix Lutheran is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.6 runs over those games. As for New Life Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 7-2.
Friday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. New Life Academy has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .543. However, it's not like St. Croix Lutheran struggles in that department as they've averaged .433. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
