The Wayland Wildcats will venture away from home to square off against the West Catholic Falcons at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Wayland took a ten-run defeat the last time they faced off against Lowell, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Wildcats had just enough and edged out the Red Arrows 11-10 on Friday. The win was some much needed relief for the Wildcats as it spelled an end to their five-game losing streak.
Wayland saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jaxon Ritsma, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. That's the most runs Ritsma has posted since back in April. Another was Logan Byrne, who went 1-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it may have taken ten innings to finish the job, but West Catholic ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They beat Sparta by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 5-4. The Falcons haven't had any issues with the Spartans recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
West Catholic also got a great performance from Elliott Plum as he didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. Plum has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.
At the plate, David Britenfeld and Aidan Taylor did most of the damage at the plate: Britenfeld went 2-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI, while Taylor went 3-for-5 with four RBI and one double. Landon Smith also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
West Catholic pushed their record up to 19-4 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of one runs across that stretch. As for Wayland, their record is now 12-14.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Wayland has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like West Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.