The Faith Lutheran Crusaders will head out on the road to take on the Basic Wolves at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Faith Lutheran took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They came out on top against Bishop Alemany by a score of 6-3.
Tyler Lipka looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.
At the plate, Kade Gerboc-Chun was excellent, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted over his last eight contests. Rouselle Shepard was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Basic faced Centennial in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Monday. The Wolves put the hurt on the Bulldogs with a sharp 8-1 win. Considering the Wolves have won six matches by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Andruw Giles made a splash no matter where he played. He tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in ten consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
In other pitching news, Noah Sebastian tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Lyndon Lee, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run. Another player making a difference was Tate Southisene, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Faith Lutheran pushed their record up to 16-12 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Basic, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season.
Faith Lutheran couldn't quite finish off Basic in their previous meeting back in March and fell 5-3. Can the Crusaders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
