The Althoff Catholic Crusaders will challenge the O'Fallon Panthers at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Althoff Catholic has struggled recently with five losses in a row, while O'Fallon will arrive with ten straight victories.
On Thursday, Althoff Catholic came up short against Marquette Catholic and fell 11-6.
Bo Gomric made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Ben Vosse, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask O'Fallon). They put the hurt on Mascoutah with a sharp 14-1 win on Wednesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Panthers with their most commanding win of the season.
The team relied heavily on Brayden Robertson, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Camden Cox was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
O'Fallon always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .595. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
O'Fallon's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-1. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Althoff Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Althoff Catholic has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like O'Fallon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Althoff Catholic might still be hurting after the 15-5 loss they got from O'Fallon when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Can the Crusaders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
