The Belvidere North Blue Thunder will head out on the road to take on the Boylan Catholic Titans at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Belvidere North has given up an average of 7 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Belvidere North lost 20-13 to Guilford on Friday. While the Blue Thunder didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Vikings 6-1 in the first period.
Meanwhile, Boylan Catholic had already won 11 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it 12 on Saturday. They came out on top against the Knights by a score of 6-2. That's two games straight that the Titans have won by exactly four runs.
Charlie Maier made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Boylan Catholic is 8-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 12-13-1 otherwise. Maier was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Reid Diamond looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 11 over four innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
Back at the plate, Boylan Catholic let Ryder McCauley and Henry Berg run wild. McCauley got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run, while Berg went 1-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. McCauley has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Michael Davenport, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one double.
Boylan Catholic's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-14-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Belvidere North, they now have a losing record of 12-13.
Belvidere North couldn't quite get it done against Boylan Catholic in their previous meeting on May 9th as they fell 6-2. Can the Blue Thunder avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
