St. Mary Catholic came tearing into Thursday's matchup with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.2 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They had just enough and edged the Manitowoc Lutheran Lancers out 6-5. That's two games straight that St. Mary Catholic has won by just one run.
Aiden Birling made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Birling was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Fisher Mackenzie, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Noah Decker, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
On Manitowoc Lutheran's side, Brayden Zirbel was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 3-for-3. Caden Stanzel was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.
St. Mary Catholic pushed their record up to 9-6 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home. As for Manitowoc Lutheran, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 9-7.
St. Mary Catholic will be playing at home against Laconia at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Laconia's pitching crew has only allowed 2.3 runs per game this season, so St. Mary Catholic's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Manitowoc Lutheran, they will look to defend their home field on Saturday against Roncalli at 11:00 a.m. The last four games Manitowoc Lutheran has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
