Marian Catholic has enjoyed the comforts of home their last four games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will challenge the Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The last three games Marian Catholic has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
On Monday, it was a hard-fought contest, but Marian Catholic had to settle for a 5-4 defeat against Panther Valley. The loss continues a trend for Marian Catholic in their matchups with Panther Valley: they've now lost nine in a row.
Brian Hinkle spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered five runs (all of which were unearned) on six hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Marian Catholic saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Rocco Griguoli, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Shenandoah Valley unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Monday. They took a 6-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of Schuylkill Haven. Having soared to a lofty 15 runs in the game before, Shenandoah Valley couldn't push the score so high this time.
Brady Najda made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Marian Catholic's record now sits at 10-8. As for Shenandoah Valley, their record now sits at 6-11.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Marian Catholic hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Shenandoah Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Marian Catholic was able to grind out a solid win over Shenandoah Valley when the teams last played back in April, winning 5-2. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Shenandoah Valley's Chase McCole, who struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Marian Catholic still be able to contain McCole? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
