The Northwest Catholic Lions will challenge the Canton Warriors at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Northwest Catholic's hitters haven't had much luck over their past three games, but Saturday's contest will give them a chance to turn things around.
Friday just wasn't the day for Northwest Catholic's offense. They fell just short of Wethersfield by a score of 1-0 on Friday.
Jonah Balcerzak
| 05/16/25 vs Wethersfield | 2 |
| 05/12/25 @ Farmington | 2 |
| 05/08/25 @ Bristol Eastern | 1 |
| 04/30/25 @ Conard | 2 |
Jonah Balcerzak spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Northwest Catholic saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Will Vincent, who went 1-for-3 with one double.
Meanwhile, Canton never let their opponents score on Friday. They blew past Northwestern Regional 11-0. The matchup marked the Warriors' most dominant win of the season.
Oden Berg made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three). He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Canton's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 5-1 (and 2-7 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Canton got a massive performance out of James Canny, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Canny has become a key player for the Warriors: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three RBI, but 4-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Ethan Lindquist, who went 3-for-4 with three runs and one stolen base.
Canton kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Canton pushed their record up to 7-8 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.6 runs on average over those games. As for Northwest Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-10.
Northwest Catholic skirted past Canton 4-3 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Do the Lions have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Warriors turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
