The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders will square off against the Olympian Eagles at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Mater Dei Catholic has five straight victories, Olympian has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Mater Dei Catholic and Hilltop meet (two straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Crusaders walked away with a 7-4 win over the Lancers.
Joey Castillo was excellent, going 1-for-2 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Jean Pierre Noury was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Olympian and Hilltop, and Hilltop kept the tradition alive. The Eagles fell just short of the Lancers by a score of 5-3 on Monday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Eagles have suffered since April 18, 2024.
Aaron Gonzalez put in work while hitting and pitching. He tossed six innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off ten hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Daniel Rodriguez made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 3-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Mater Dei Catholic pushed their record up to 13-13 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Olympian, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-11-1.
Mater Dei Catholic was able to grind out a solid victory over Olympian in their previous meeting back in April, winning 9-5. Will the Crusaders repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
