The Hope Christian Huskies will head out on the road to challenge the St. Michael's Horsemen at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hope Christian is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 8.1 runs per game this season.
While Hope Christian has not struggled against Valley recently, they managed to flip the script on Tuesday. Hope Christian walked away with a 7-4 win over Valley. The victory was some much needed relief for Hope Christian as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Joe Marek spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on nine hits.
At the plate, Hope Christian got a big performance out of Brady McGahie, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI, a triple, and a run. Another player making a difference was Alex Bradbury, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and a double.
St. Michael's was handed a two-point defeat in their last matchup, but they sure didn't let that happen against Raton on Tuesday. St. Michael's blew past Raton 16-1. Considering St. Michael's has won four games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Lucas Stoll looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits.
On the hitting side, Jackson Heath was incredible, going 3-for-3 with a home run, three runs, and four RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Joaquin Sena, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4.
Hope Christian's record is now 11-6. As for St. Michael's, they pushed their record up to 7-5 with that win, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hope Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. Michael's struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hope Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over St. Michael's when the teams last played back in April of 2023, winning 4-0. Will Hope Christian repeat their success, or does St. Michael's have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
