St. Mary and Manitou Springs are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2016, but likely not for long. The Pirates are taking a road trip to take on the Mustangs at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with St. Mary's sitting on six straight wins and Manitou Springs on three.
St. Mary's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. Everything went their way against Ellicott as they made off with a 13-0 victory. The Pirates might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by ten runs or more this season.
Ron Karin made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Garret Klein
| 04/19/25 vs Ellicott | 3 |
| 04/19/25 vs Ellicott | 3 |
| 04/16/25 @ Calhan | 3 |
In other batting news, St. Mary's got a massive performance out of Garret Klein, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and one run. Klein is on a roll when it comes to RBI, as he's now brought in three or more in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Cole Eberhardt, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one double.
St. Mary's was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .375 or higher in five consecutive contests.
Manitou Springs came out on top against Lamar on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive ten-run fourth inning. The Mustangs were the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over the Thunder.
Like St. Mary's, Manitou Springs also got a great game from a two-way player: Preston Rhodes. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits. The dominant performance also gave Rhodes a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his three plate appearances with two runs.
In other batting news, Hayden Martinez was incredible, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Manitou Springs is undefeated when Martinez posts two or more runs, but 2-7 otherwise. Maxton Bolster was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Manitou Springs' win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-7. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for St. Mary's, their record is now 9-4.
Manitou Springs' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. Mary's has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.3 hits per game. It's a different story for Manitou Springs, though, as they've been averaging 8.9 hits. Given St. Mary's sizable advantage in that area, the Mustangs will need to find a way to close that gap.
St. Mary's couldn't quite get it done against Manitou Springs in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 as they fell 6-3. Can the Pirates avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
