Dwyer and Cardinal Newman are an even 4-4 against one another since April of 2016, but likely not for long. The Dwyer Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Cardinal Newman Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Dwyer has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with three straight defeats, while Cardinal Newman will come in with ten straight wins.
On Thursday, Dwyer came up short against Seminole Ridge and fell 5-1. The game marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Brayton Torchia
| 03/06/25 vs Seminole Ridge | 1 |
| 02/21/25 @ Neumann | 0 |
| 02/14/25 vs American Heritage | 1 |
Dwyer got a good showing from Brayton Torchia, who tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Torchia has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Dwyer saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Miguel Marrero, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI. That double was Marrero's first of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cardinal Newman). Everything went their way against DeLand on Wednesday as Cardinal Newman made off with an 11-1 victory. The Crusaders not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since April 30, 2024.
The team relied heavily on Dominic Demarzo, who fired off two home runs, four runs, and five RBI while going 3-for-4. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Gabriel Acevedo, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
Cardinal Newman always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .581. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Cardinal Newman pushed their record up to 10-0-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Dwyer, their loss dropped their record down to 2-4.
Dwyer's speedy runners might be the difference in Friday's match. Dwyer has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Cardinal Newman, though, as they've been averaging only 0.7 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Dwyer continue to outrun the ball? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
