The Benedictine Bengals will challenge the Riverside Beavers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Benedictine's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Riverside's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
On Wednesday, Benedictine didn't have quite enough to beat Hawken and fell 2-1.
Ben Scheer was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over six innings pitched.
At the plate, Benedictine saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Danny Joyce, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI. That stolen base marked the first that Joyce has snagged this season.
Meanwhile, Riverside had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.2 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Tigers a 14-0 shutout. The Beavers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight games by six runs or more this season.
Mason Pozo looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Riverside is 9-1 when Pozo allows one or fewer earned runs, but 6-7 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Austin Wittreich was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Riverside's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 9-1 (and 6-7 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Mo Dolce, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs, one double, and one RBI.
Riverside hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least three batters in four consecutive matches.
Riverside's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-8. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. As for Benedictine, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 10-10 record this season.
Benedictine came up short against Riverside when the teams last played back in March, falling 4-1. Can the Bengals avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
