The St. Joseph Lancers will take on the Burlington Demons at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. St. Joseph is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.5 runs per game this season.
Tuesday just wasn't the day for St. Joseph's offense. They fell just short of Hartford by a score of 2-0 on Tuesday. Having soared to a lofty ten runs in the game before, the Lancers' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
St. Joseph saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Patrick Davidson, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one double.
Meanwhile, Burlington never let their opponents score on Tuesday. Everything went their way against South Milwaukee as they made off with an 11-0 victory. The game marked the Demons' most dominant win of the season.
Carter Baumeister made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Burlington is 4-2 when he allows at most one walk, but 5-12 otherwise. Baumeister was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Trey Kerkhoff and Gavin Caliva did most of the damage at the plate: Kerkhoff went 1-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Caliva went 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most hits Caliva has posted since back in April. Carter Behling was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double.
Burlington was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .409. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Burlington has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 9-14 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for St. Joseph, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 21-5.
Burlington's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. Joseph has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .490. It's a different story for Burlington, though, as they've only averaged .356. Will they be able to contain St. Joseph's hitters?
St. Joseph couldn't quite get it done against Burlington when the teams last played back in May of 2023 as they fell 12-8. Will the Lancers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
