The Salpointe Catholic Lancers will face off against the Mesquite Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Salpointe Catholic comes in on three and Mesquite on five.
Salpointe Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Bradshaw Mountain a 10-0 shutout. Considering the Lancers have won 15 contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Salpointe Catholic got a great performance from Sam Meisner as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Aciel Guillen, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Anthony Milo, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI.
Salpointe Catholic always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .560. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matchups.
Mesquite came out on top against Ironwood Ridge on Monday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run second inning. The Wildcats had just enough and edged out the Nighthawks 8-7.
Cooper Leroy was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Jensen Jones and Gunnar Gift did most of the damage at the plate: Jones went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Gift got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base. That's the most runs Gift has posted since back in April. Noah Forney was another key player, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base and one run.
Salpointe Catholic pushed their record up to 23-4-1 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.1 runs over those games. As for Mesquite, their victory bumped their record up to 22-8.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Salpointe Catholic hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Mesquite struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
