The St. Augustine Catholic Wolves will look to defend their home field on Monday against the Desert Christian Eagles at 3:45 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
St. Augustine Catholic scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Tempe Prep as St. Augustine Catholic made off with a 21-5 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for St. Augustine Catholic.
Owen Ernle was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Ernle was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, St. Augustine Catholic got a massive performance out of Andres Betancourt, who scored four runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5. Betancourt is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Sergio Cordova, who scored three runs while going 3-for-5.
Meanwhile, Desert Christian entered their tilt with St. David with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. They came out on top against the Tigers by a score of 5-2 on Wednesday.
Like St. Augustine Catholic, Desert Christian also got a great game from a two-way player: Bennett Vondrak. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out ten over seven innings pitched. Vondrak was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Caden Esquerra, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Cruz Smith was another key contributor, going 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.
St. Augustine Catholic is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a massive bump to their 6-7 record this season. As for Desert Christian, they pushed their record up to 9-2 with that win, which was their fifth straight on the road.
Monday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. St. Augustine Catholic has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .453. However, it's not like Desert Christian struggles in that department as they've averaged .456. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
St. Augustine Catholic came up short against Desert Christian in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, falling 9-5. Will St. Augustine Catholic have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
