The St. Bede Bruins will take on the Marquette Crusaders at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in St. Bede's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs in their last three matchups.
St. Bede's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over Rochelle. The result was nothing new for the Bruins, who have now won eight contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Not much got past Chipper Rossi, who gave up just five hits to keep Rochelle off the board. Rossi has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
Quinn McClain
| 04/23/25 vs Rochelle | 3 |
| 03/29/25 @ Annawan-Wethersfield | 2 |
| 04/10/25 vs Woodland | 1 |
| 03/18/25 @ Dwight | 1 |
On the hitting side, Quinn McClain was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Those three hits gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lili McClain, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI.
St. Bede was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. They are 7-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Marquette entered their match against Henry-Senachwine on Tuesday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Crusaders came up short against the Mallards, falling 8-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Crusaders have suffered since April 18, 2024.
Marquette also got a good showing from Savanah Erickson, who pitched 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. That's the fewest earned runs Erickson has allowed since back in March.
At the plate, Marquette saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kelsey Cuchra, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
St. Bede pushed their record up to 10-5 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Marquette, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 13-3.
Thursday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. St. Bede has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .467. However, it's not like Marquette struggles in that department as they've averaged .479. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
St. Bede came out on top in a nail-biter against Marquette in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 4-2. Will the Bruins repeat their success, or do the Crusaders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
