The Hamden Hall Country Day Hornets will venture away from home to face off against the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Cardinal Gibbons will be up against a hot Hamden Hall Country Day team: the squad just extended their winning streak to 14. Hamden Hall Country Day came out on top in a nail-biter against Fuquay - Varina on Wednesday, sneaking past 6-4.
The team relied heavily on Jey Scanlon, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his six plate appearances. Billy Cole was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Cardinal Gibbons, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. Everything went their way against Wake County HomeSchool on Tuesday as Cardinal Gibbons made off with a 7-1 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Crusaders have posted against the Warriors since May 5, 2021.
Cam Tarkenton made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit (and only one walk). He is becoming a predictor of Cardinal Gibbons' success: when he allows at most two hits the team is undefeated (and 0-4 when he doesn't). Tarkenton was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Bryce Fitzsimmons was incredible, going 1-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jack Richards, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Hamden Hall Country Day's victory was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.4 runs over those games. As for Cardinal Gibbons, their record now sits at 3-4.
Hamden Hall Country Day might still be hurting after the 13-7 defeat they got from Cardinal Gibbons when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Hamden Hall Country Day avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
