The Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary Cardinals will face off against the St. Bernard Vikings at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against Bosco Tech on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 4-1 to the Tigers.
Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Elias Vigil, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, St. Bernard waltzed into their contest on Wednesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They blew past the Jaguars 15-2. The Vikings might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by six runs or more this season.
Juan Sandoval made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lennex Minor, who fired off two home runs and five RBI while going 2-for-4. Those two home runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Swinson, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
St. Bernard was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .394 or higher in five consecutive matches.
St. Bernard's win was their tenth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.1 runs on average over those games. As for Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary, they now have a losing record of 8-9.
Tuesday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .484. However, it's not like St. Bernard struggles in that department as they've averaged .448. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary took their win against St. Bernard when the teams last played back in May of 2016 by a conclusive 11-0 score. Will the Cardinals repeat their success, or do the Vikings have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
