The Priory Panthers will square off against The Bay School Breakers at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Priory 4, The Bay School 3.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Priory fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against El Camino on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Colts by a score of 5-4. The contest marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Michael Hildebrandt was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He struck out eight batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Hildebrandt was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and one double.
Hildebrandt wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Nathan Tuan, who went 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. That double marked the first that Tuan has hit this season. Kai Aalfs was another, going 2-for-4 with one double.
Meanwhile, The Bay School came up short against Design Tech on Friday and fell 4-1. The loss was the Breakers' first of the season.
Mak Kelly was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched.
At the plate, Terje Steele made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and one run.
Having lost for the first time this season, The Bay School fell to 3-1. As for Priory, their loss dropped their record down to 4-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Priory has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like The Bay School struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Priory couldn't quite get it done against The Bay School when the teams last played back in April of 2024 as they fell 7-4. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
