The Cardinal Newman Crusaders will head out on the road to face off against the Jensen Beach Falcons at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Cardinal Newman is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Cardinal Newman barely beat Dwyer the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Everything went Cardinal Newman's way against Dwyer on Friday as Cardinal Newman made off with a 9-1 win.
Carl Calixte made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Cardinal Newman let Finn Duran and Gabriel Acevedo run wild. Duran scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5, while Acevedo went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Dominic Demarzo, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4.
Cardinal Newman kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least ten hits in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Jensen Beach ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Sebastian River 3-2. The Falcons haven't had any issues with the Sharks recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
Austin DeTure looked comfortable as he pitched 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Johnny Delancy was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Cardinal Newman's win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-0-1. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Jensen Beach, their record now sits at 7-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cardinal Newman has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Jensen Beach struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cardinal Newman beat Jensen Beach 7-2 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cardinal Newman since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
