The Canterbury Crusaders will take on the Grace Christian Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Canterbury 3, Grace Christian 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Tuesday, Canterbury was able to grind out a solid victory over Lakeside Christian, taking the game 4-1.
Meanwhile, while Grace Christian put up some runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for Riverview Academy of Math and Science. The Patriots blew past the Barracudas 10-0. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won six matches by seven runs or more so far this season.
Bryce Purkey was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over four innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.
In other batting news, Benjamin Fanelli was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2. He has become a key player for Grace Christian: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 2-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Cash Newton, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Grace Christian has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Canterbury, their victory bumped their record up to 8-4.
Canterbury was able to grind out a solid win over Grace Christian in their previous matchup back in March, winning 10-7. Do the Crusaders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Patriots turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
