The Faith Lutheran Crusaders will head out to take on the Basic Wolves at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Faith Lutheran 3.9, Basic 4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Faith Lutheran is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Shadow Ridge, sneaking past 5-4.
Austin Herterick looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Rookie Shepard was excellent, going 1-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Kingston Kela was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one triple.
Meanwhile, Basic faced Foothill in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Wolves won by a run and slipped past the Falcons 4-3. Winning may never get old, but the Wolves sure are getting used to it with their fifth in a row.
Lincoln Evans tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 11 over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Andruw Giles, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Dallon Cegavske, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one run and one double.
Basic hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Foothill struck out 15 times.
Faith Lutheran's record now sits at 16-13. As for Basic, their record is now 18-8.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Faith Lutheran hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Basic struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Faith Lutheran might still be hurting after the 6-0 loss they got from Basic when the teams last played back in February. Can the Crusaders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
