University City hasn't had much luck against Madison recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Centurions will head out to challenge the Warhawks at 4:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (University City 2.3, Madison 1.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
University City fell victim to Helix and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. They fell just short of the Highlanders by a score of 2-0. The Centurions have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Julian Gonzalez
| 04/04/25 @ Helix | 1 |
| 04/03/25 @ San Ysidro | 0 |
| 03/28/25 vs San Diego | 1 |
| 03/19/25 @ Santana | 1 |
Julian Gonzalez was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.
Meanwhile, Madison had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs) and they went ahead and made it nine last Thursday. They never let the Cardinals get on the board and left with a 10-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Warhawks, who have now won seven games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Madison also got a great performance from Charlie Kroning as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over 4.1 innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave Kroning a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Harrison Brown, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. William Barden also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Madison was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .435. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in three consecutive matchups.
Madison pushed their record up to 12-3 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for University City, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. University City has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Madison struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
University City might still be hurting after the 7-1 loss they got from Madison in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can the Centurions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
