The Villa Madonna Vikings are taking a road trip to take on the Calvary Christian Cougars at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Monday, Villa Madonna was able to grind out a solid win over Heritage Academy, taking the game 4-1. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Vikings.
Villa Madonna saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Luke Smith, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Tyler Brandstetter was another, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, Calvary Christian entered their tilt with Newport on Saturday with three consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with four. They blew past the Wildcats 12-2. While the Cougars didn't have the best season last year (they finished 13-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Case Craddock made a big impact no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over 4.1 innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Adam Curtis was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Leo Mcdaniel, who got on base in two of his three plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Calvary Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .409. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .406 or higher in four consecutive games.
Calvary Christian pushed their record up to 12-3 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Villa Madonna, they now have a winning record of 8-7-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Villa Madonna has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Calvary Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Villa Madonna came out on top in a nail-biter against Calvary Christian in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 7-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Vikings since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
