The Elk County Catholic Crusaders will venture away from home to square off against the Brookville Raiders at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Elk County Catholic will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
On Thursday, Elk County Catholic narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Port Allegany 6-4. That's two games straight that the Crusaders have won by exactly two runs.
The team relied heavily on Wyatt Brem, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Charlie Geci, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Brookville). They were the clear victors by a 10-3 margin over Bradford on Wednesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Luke Burton spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on four hits.
On the hitting side, Owen Fleming was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Gage Miller also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
Elk County Catholic's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-3. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Brookville, their win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 4-7.
Elk County Catholic came out on top in a nail-biter against Brookville in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 6-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
