Baseball Game Preview: St. Francis Mariners vs. Living Word Lutheran Timberwolves

St. Francis is 2-8 against Living Word Lutheran since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Mariners will square off against the Timberwolves at 4:30 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

While St. Francis' victory against Luther Prep wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Mariners won by a run and slipped past the Phoenix 3-2. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Mariners.

Tyler Budzien spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on three hits and racked up 13 Ks.

Cameron Schafter

Stolen Base

04/14/25 vs Luther Prep	2
04/08/25 vs University School of Milwaukee	0
05/02/24 vs St. Anthony	2

At the plate, Cameron Schafter was excellent, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in May of 2024.

Meanwhile, Living Word Lutheran came into Tuesday's match having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They never let St. John's Northwestern Military Academy get on the board and left with a 12-0 win on Tuesday.

Gavin Weissenburger made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out six over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing four bases while going 2-for-3. Living Word Lutheran is 2-1 when Weissenburger posts two or more runs, but 0-3 otherwise.

In other batting news, Living Word Lutheran let Easton Oliver and Jackson Oliver run wild. Easton scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-4, while Jackson scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Those runs marked the first that Jackson scored this season. Another player making a difference was Eli Raddemann, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.

Living Word Lutheran's record now sits at 2-4. As for St. Francis, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.

St. Francis suffered a grim 9-2 defeat to Living Word Lutheran in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Mariners avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.