Baseball Game Preview: Xaverian Clippers vs. Archbishop Molloy Stanners

The Xaverian Clippers will venture away from home to square off against the Archbishop Molloy Stanners at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

While Xaverian's victory against St. Francis Prep wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Clippers won by a run and slipped past the Terriers 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Clippers have posted since April 29th.

Jude VanOoyen

Earned Runs

05/08/25 @ Chaminade	5
05/17/25 @ St. Francis Prep	2
05/24/25 @ St. Francis Prep	1

Xaverian got a great performance from Jude VanOoyen as he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. VanOoyen has become a key player for the Clippers: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 9-15 otherwise.

At the plate, Justin Rotundi was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Patrick Hassel also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.

Xaverian kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.5 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 games they've averaged 11.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Molloy had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They walked away with a 4-1 victory over Monsignor McClancy on Saturday. The Stanners haven't had any issues with the Crusaders recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Xaverian has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-16 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.6 runs on average over those games. As for Archbishop Molloy, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 26-6-1.

Xaverian couldn't quite finish off Archbishop Molloy when the teams last played two weeks ago and fell 3-1. Can the Clippers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.