The Geibel Catholic Gators will head out on the road to take on the Hillel Academy Heat at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Geibel Catholic has struggled recently with four losses in a row, while Hillel Academy will arrive with three straight victories.
Monessen hit Geibel Catholic with a ten-run sixth inning on Monday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Gators lost 15-4 to the Greyhounds. Surprisingly, this marked the Gators' fifth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Eahn Stevenson
| 04/28/25 vs Monessen | 11 |
| 04/01/25 vs Brashear | 10 |
| 03/25/25 vs Turkeyfoot Valley Area | 11 |
Eahn Stevenson was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 11 batters over five innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than ten strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
Meanwhile, Hillel Academy was not the first on the board on Sunday, but they got there more often. They put the hurt on Fuchs Mizrachi with a sharp 13-3 win. Considering the Heat have won four contests by more than five runs this season, Sunday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Geibel Catholic, Hillel Academy also got a great game from a two-way player: Dovid Blalock. He pitched four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off one hit. Blalock was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
In other batting news, Yosef Levari was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ashi Itskowitz, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.
Hillel Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .585. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Hillel Academy pushed their record up to 5-4 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Geibel Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Geibel Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Hillel Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
