When two of the Metro League’s top teams took to the diamond, many expected a close, hard-fought game. But at the end of 7 innings, the Lakeside Lions were shut out 7-0 by the Eastside Catholic Crusaders. With an upset over the No. 4 3A team in Washington, the Crusaders rise through the ranks and set the tone for what could be a solid season.
Lakeside was flying high off their 9-2 win against Nathan Hale, and on the other side, EC was coming in with their tails between their legs after a tough 6-2 loss against Ballard. The Lions faced the Crusaders on Monday night on EC’s home turf, having been 2-8 against them since May 2017.
The Lions came in with high hopes, aiming to close that gap, but were quickly shut out by the Crusaders’ starting pitcher Will Crain. On the defensive side, the Crusaders’ fielding made it difficult for the Lions to get the bats rolling.
’25 Crain was a force to be reckoned with on the mound, only allowing 4 hits in the whole game. Crain is committed to the University of Washington for the fall of 2025.
But the Lions weren’t going down without a fight. Out of the 4 hits allowed on Crain, the starting pitcher for the Lions, Teddy Tokheim, had 2 of those hits and pitched for the first 3 innings. Tokheim is committed to playing college baseball at Stanford University in 2025 and proved a challenge against EC’s top-notch fielding.
While the game started slow, the Crusaders started to pick it up in the 3rd inning, and from that point on, it was rolling for the Crusaders. The first run came from senior #12 Daxx Dellucchi, setting up Eastside for an exciting next 4 innings.
The Crusaders ended the 3rd inning with 2 runs and kept it going by getting 5 more over the next 4 innings. Being a team that averages fewer runs than Lakeside per game, they definitely got it done on Monday night and stopped the Lions in their tracks.
The Lions pitcher was switched out at the bottom of the 4th to sophomore Sid Suri, who had 5 runs scored on him in the last couple innings. It seemed to be lights out for the Lions as the rain started to fall on Monday night.
The Crusaders continue on through the week after this huge win and go 5-2 overall, while the Lions fall, going 4-2. It’s not the end of this matchup, though.
These two teams will face each other again this week on Wednesday, this time on Lakeside’s home turf at 4. Lakeside will be hoping to attack the Crusaders and end up on top by the end of the night, but can the Crusaders keep their winning streak going against the Lions?
It’s all up in the air as to who will come out on top. Is it the Lions’ time to conquer or will the Crusaders shut them out once again?
