The Gaston Christian Eagles will take on the Grace Christian Crusaders at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Gaston Christian sitting on eight straight wins and Grace Christian on six.
Gaston Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They never let John Paul II Catholic get on the board and left with an 11-0 victory. The Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten matchups by eight runs or more this season.
Gaston Christian got a massive performance out of Xander Sutton, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one home run and three RBI. Carter Rowe also deserves some recognition as he launched his first home run of the season.
Gaston Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .577. The last time their OBP was this high was back in March.
Meanwhile, Grace Christian was able to grind out a solid win over Hickory Grove Christian on Tuesday, taking the game 7-3.
The team relied heavily on Matt Murchison, who went 1-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Jimmy Alfonsin, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, one run, and one RBI.
Gaston Christian's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-2. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.2 runs over those games. As for Grace Christian, their record now sits at 21-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Gaston Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Grace Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Gaston Christian couldn't quite finish off Grace Christian when the teams last played back in May of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
