The Elk County Catholic Crusaders will challenge the Coudersport Falcons at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Elk County Catholic sitting on 12 straight wins and Coudersport on three.
Elk County Catholic's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They walked away with a 5-0 victory over Kane.
Lance O'Neill
| 05/12/25 vs Kane | 6 |
| 05/10/25 @ Kane | 1 |
| 04/30/25 vs Port Allegany | 3 |
| 04/25/25 @ Brookville | 5 |
| 04/24/25 @ Port Allegany | 3 |
| + 2 more games |
Lance O'Neill made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over seven innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Chase Simbeck, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Wyatt Brem, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Coudersport got the win against Otto-Eldred on Friday by a conclusive 8-2. The Falcons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten games by six runs or more this season.
Like Elk County Catholic, Coudersport also got a great game from a two-way player: Mason Roessner. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off seven hits (and not a single walk). Roessner has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Coudersport let Quinn Kratzer and Mitchell Taylor run wild. Kratzer went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI, while Taylor went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases and two runs.
Coudersport was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .348 or higher in four consecutive matches.
Elk County Catholic's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Coudersport, their win bumped their record up to 11-4-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Elk County Catholic has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Coudersport struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Elk County Catholic was able to grind out a solid victory over Coudersport in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, winning 6-3. Will the Crusaders repeat their success, or do the Falcons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
