The Old Forge Blue Devils will square off against the Holy Cross Crusaders at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Old Forge turned things around against Western Wayne on Friday. They put the hurt on the Wildcats with a sharp 9-3 victory.
Kamryn Notari made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. Notari was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Lilianna Lenceski and Kate O'Hearn did most of the damage at the plate: Lenceski went 2-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run, while O'Hearn scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. That triple was Lenceski's first of the season. Juliette DeStefano was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Holy Cross strolled into their game on Friday with a perfect record and they left with the same. Everything went their way against Riverside as they made off with an 11-1 win. Fans of the Crusaders have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.
Like Old Forge, Holy Cross also got a great game from a two-way player: AVA SCHMIDT. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over six innings pitched. SCHMIDT was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on MIA GALELLA, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was CLAIRE HELRING, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Holy Cross' victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.3 runs over those games. As for Old Forge, their victory bumped their record up to 2-4.
Everything went Old Forge's way against Holy Cross in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Old Forge made off with a 10-0 win. Do the Blue Devils have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Crusaders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
