Cambridge-Isanti hasn't had much luck against St. Francis recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Bluejackets will look to defend their home field against the Fighting Saints at 5:00 p.m. Both teams are still undefeated (Cambridge-Isanti has five wins dating back to last season, while St. Francis has four dating back to last season).
Cambridge-Isanti's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They walked away with a 4-0 win over Rock Ridge co-op [Eveleth-Gilbert/Virginia].
Not much got past Mackenzie Brooks, who gave up just a hit and racked up 15 Ks to keep Rock Ridge co-op [Eveleth-Gilbert/Virginia] off the board.
Avery Crittenden
| 04/12/25 vs Rock Ridge co-op [Eveleth-Gilbert/Virginia] | 1 |
| 04/12/25 vs Denfeld | 2 |
| 04/10/25 @ Monticello | 1 |
On the hitting side, Cambridge-Isanti let Avery Crittenden and Hailey Schmidt run wild. Crittenden scored two runs and stole a base, while Schmidt scored a run while going 3-for-3. Crittenden has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played. Reese Andrus also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Meanwhile, St. Francis made easy work of North Branch on Friday and carried off a 12-2 victory.
Sydney Borchert was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Borchert was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Emerson Markas and Emily Meyer did most of the damage at the plate: Markas scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances, while Meyer scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. That's the most runs Markas has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Grace Keding, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Cambridge-Isanti pushed their record up to 4-0 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.5 runs on average this season. As for St. Francis, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cambridge-Isanti has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. Francis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cambridge-Isanti couldn't quite get it done against St. Francis in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 as they fell 5-0. Can the Bluejackets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
