The St. Ignatius College Preparatory Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Saint Francis Lancers at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. St. Ignatius College Preparatory's pitching crew has only allowed 2.3 runs per game this season, so Saint Francis' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
St. Ignatius College Preparatory is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Valley Christian just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Saturday. They took a 5-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Warriors.
St. Ignatius College Preparatory got a good showing from Spencer Guido, who pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Guido has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in eight consecutive appearances.
At the plate, St. Ignatius College Preparatory saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Chase Gordon, who went 1-for-2 with one double.
Meanwhile, Saint Francis got the win against Archbishop Mitty on Saturday by a conclusive 13-3. That ten run margin sets a new team best for the Lancers this season.
Elliot Hsu looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Saint Francis got a massive performance out of Gino Cappellazzo, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. That's the most runs Cappellazzo has posted since back in April of 2024. Jack Leeper was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Saint Francis was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .448. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matches.
Saint Francis has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-6 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.1 runs over those games. As for St. Ignatius College Preparatory, their loss dropped their record down to 14-8-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. St. Ignatius College Preparatory hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Saint Francis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
St. Ignatius College Preparatory skirted past Saint Francis 5-4 in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Lancers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
