The Althoff Catholic Crusaders will look to defend their home field on Tuesday against the Father McGivney Catholic Griffins at 4:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Althoff Catholic scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Thursday. Everything went their way against Metro-East Lutheran as Althoff Catholic made off with a 17-2 victory. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Braden Edgar looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits (he also only allowed one walk).
On the hitting side, Evan Hoffman was a standout: he scored a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Hank Gomric was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-5.
Meanwhile, Father McGivney Catholic had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 runs), and they went ahead and made it six on Monday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Piasa Birds a 9-0 shutout. Give Father McGivney Catholic's pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
The team relied heavily on Mason Holmes, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs, and a double. Another player making a difference was Nicholas Franklin, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a double.
Althoff Catholic pushed their record up to 8-3-1 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.7 runs per game. As for Father McGivney Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 13-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Althoff Catholic has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Father McGivney Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.2. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Althoff Catholic suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to Father McGivney Catholic in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Can Althoff Catholic avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
