The Althoff Catholic Crusaders will square off against the Litchfield Purple Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Althoff Catholic is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.6 runs per game this season.
Having struggled with six defeats in a row, Althoff Catholic turned things around against St. Louis HomeSchool P on Tuesday. They skirted past the Patriots 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Crusaders have posted since March 20th.
Dale Parker
| 04/15/25 vs St. Louis HomeSchool P | 3 |
| 04/08/25 vs Marquette Catholic | 0 |
| 04/01/25 @ Father McGivney Catholic | 2 |
| 03/25/25 @ Metro-East Lutheran | 4 |
Althoff Catholic got a great performance from Dale Parker as he pitched six innings while giving up just two earned runs off nine hits. What's more, Parker posted three strikeouts, the most he's had over his last four contests.
On the hitting side, Cooper Zimmer was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one double and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Bo Gomric, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Litchfield hadn't done well against Carlinville recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Purple Panthers came out on top against the Cavaliers by a score of 8-4. That's two games straight that the Purple Panthers have won by exactly four runs.
Ethan Saathoff was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out eight batters over 6.1 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Saathoff was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Titan Hires and Mathew Bywater did most of the damage at the plate: Hires went 3-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI, while Bywater scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
The victory made it two in a row for Litchfield and bumps their season record up to 12-5. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 6 runs in those games. As for Althoff Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 10-7.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Althoff Catholic has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Litchfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.5 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
