Crusaders
| 04/22/25 vs Henry-Senachwine | 2 |
| 04/21/25 @ Henry-Senachwine | 0 |
| 04/10/25 vs Dwight | 14 |
| 04/08/25 @ Dwight | 16 |
| 04/03/25 @ Woodland | 22 |
| + 11 more games |
The Marquette Crusaders will head out to take on the St. Bede Bruins at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Marquette is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 11.4 runs per game this season.
Marquette will head out to face St. Bede after giving up their first home loss of the season on Tuesday. The Crusaders lost 8-2 to Henry-Senachwine. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Crusaders have suffered since April 18, 2024.
Marquette got a good showing from Savanah Erickson, who pitched 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. That's the fewest earned runs Erickson has allowed since back in March.
At the plate, Marquette saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kelsey Cuchra, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
St. Bede came out on top against Rochelle on Wednesday thanks in part to the team's impressive six-run sixth inning. The Bruins' pitcher stepped up to hand the Hubs a 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Bruins, who have now won eight matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Not much got past Chipper Rossi, who gave up just five hits to keep Rochelle off the board. Rossi has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Quinn McClain, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Those three hits gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lili McClain, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI.
St. Bede kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 18 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
St. Bede's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-5. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.7 runs over those games. As for Marquette, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 13-3.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Marquette hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like St. Bede struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Marquette couldn't quite finish off St. Bede when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can the Crusaders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
