The Canterbury Crusaders will head out on the road to square off against the Grace Christian Patriots at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Canterbury is coming into the game hot, having won their last five games.
Canterbury had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the seven-run drubbing they dealt Admiral Farragut on Wednesday. Canterbury's pitchers stepped up to hand Admiral Farragut a 7-0 shutout. The Crusaders' pitching crew has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a run in their last three matches.
Gabriel Blaxberg made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 15 over six innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Blaxberg wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Ian Robinson, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI. Brody Payne also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Grace Christian, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They put the hurt on Riverview Academy of Math and Science with a sharp 14-4 victory on Tuesday. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by seven runs or more this season.
Like Canterbury, Grace Christian also got a great game from a two-way player: Ian Johns. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. The dominant performance also gave Johns a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Braden Johns was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing Two bases. while going 3-for-4. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Cedric Walden, who scored two runs and stole Three bases.
Grace Christian is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. Canterbury's record now sits at 5-2.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Canterbury has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Grace Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Canterbury came out on top in a nail-biter against Grace Christian when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Canterbury since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
