The Santa Fe Catholic Hawks will square off against the George Jenkins Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The last three games Santa Fe Catholic has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Santa Fe Catholic is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering McKeel Academy just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 7-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Hawks have suffered since March 14th.
Easton Beach was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. Angel Andujar was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for George Jenkins, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They never let Fort Meade get on the board and left with a 12-0 victory on Wednesday. Considering the Eagles have won eight contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Not much got past Braden Smith, who gave up just two hits to keep Fort Meade off the board. Smith has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Kam Wilson was excellent, scoring two runs while going 1-for-1. Another player making a difference was Armani Cozza, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
George Jenkins was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .438. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Fort Meade only posted a batting average of .143.
George Jenkins is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 13 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Santa Fe Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 19-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Santa Fe Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like George Jenkins struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Santa Fe Catholic came out on top in a nail-biter against George Jenkins in their previous matchup back in February, sneaking past 2-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hawks since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
