The Crusaders' defense was stellar once again, and their offense solid in a season-best performance, as they returned home for a third-straight win over the Cavaliers.
The Crusaders split a pair of road games, dropping one Friday against the Spartans but rebounding for a win Tuesday vs. the Trojans.
The Crusader defense came up huge all night to hand the Spartans a remarkable 3-0 shutout, and just their third loss in three years' time.
The Crusaders flexed their muscle on defense, while Wade Register and Jakob Sahli shined on both sides of the ball, in the dominant win over their longtime rival.
The Crusaders struggled offensively in a loss to Brentwood, but rebounded with two big days at the plate the following week.
The Crusaders gave the two-time defending AA champions all they could handle, but the Gators held off the challenge in Friday's heated set of games to advance to a fifth-straight state final.
The Crusaders overpowered a competitive Georgia Christian team in Thursday's doubleheader to advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 2018.
The Trojans scored nine runs over the last two innings to pull away as they met the Crusaders in a pre-playoff pickup game Wednesday afternoon.
The Crusaders fell to CCA Monday, and at Edmund Burke Tuesday, but maintained their standing as a likely No. 4 seed in the GIAA playoffs, set to begin next weekend.
The Crusaders continued their ramp-up for the state playoffs by completing a rained-out matchup with the Mustangs from earlier in the week on Saturday morning.
