The Sacred Heart Academy Sharks will venture away from home to challenge the St. Mary's Lancers at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Monday, Sacred Heart Academy had just enough and edged out Mount St. Mary Academy 3-1. The Sharks haven't had any issues with the Thunder recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Sacred Heart Academy saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Rose Ciocca, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI. That's the most hits Ciocca has posted since back in May of 2024.
Meanwhile, St. Mary's entered their tilt with Mount Mercy Academy on Monday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. They were the clear victors by a 16-6 margin over the Magic. The result was nothing new for the Lancers, who have now won four matchups by ten runs or more so far this season.
Danielle Spiegel made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over four innings while giving up four earned runs off five hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI.
In other batting news, St. Mary's let Natalie Cully and Lauren Payne run wild. Cully went a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs, one triple, and two RBI, while Payne went 3-for-4 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI. That triple marked the first that Cully has hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jada Mushat, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one triple.
St. Mary's kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in four consecutive games.
St. Mary's pushed their record up to 6-3 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for Sacred Heart Academy, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Sacred Heart Academy suffered a grim 21-11 defeat to St. Mary's in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Sharks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
