Mount St. Joe and Archbishop Spalding set to battle in MIAA A baseball championship series
Top-seeded Gaels roll through Red Bracket; Cavaliers double-dip Calvert Hall to win the Black Bracket
After a week of double-elimination divisional bracket play, Mount St. Joseph and Archbishop Spalding are set to square off in the 2026 MIAA A Conference baseball championship series, which gets underway on Monday afternoon at St. Joe.
The top-seeded Gaels went through the Red Bracket undefeated, which included a 3-2, eight-inning, win over Loyola in Saturday’s finals. The Gaels also dispatched John Carroll in its first playoff game.
After brilliant pitching on both sides, the Gaels were able to score the walk-off win in the eighth inning on a bases loaded walk by Yaniel Escalera.
Peyton Wholey started and pitched into the eighth for the Gaels, allowing just two runs (1 earned) and four hits, before giving way to Quinn Roberts for the final two outs in the eighth. Michael Goldsmith doubled home a run for St. Joe and Braden Ashburn also added a RBI.
Starting pitcher Ethan O’Neill kept the Dons in the game throughout his seven inning stint. He allowed just three hits, but walked eight. Luke Springer tripled and scored the tying run for the Dons in the sixth.
Since losing a seventh inning lead and dropping a 7-3 decision to Calvert Hall last Wednesday, Spalding has dialed up its offense, scoring 34 runs in three straight wins, including a sweep of two games with Calvert hall over the weekend.
In the first game of the Black Bracket finals, at Spalding, the Cavaliers routed the Cardinals, 15-6, before traveling to the Hall on Sunday and winning 8-2.
Anthony Badillo homered in Saturday’s win, while Noah Vasey doubled home three runs. Brady Mamula and Maddox Butts also delivered two RBI each. On Sunday, Cruz Luna smacked a double and a triple while driving in four runs to lead the Spalding lineup. Mamula also added two more RBI.
Spalding (25-7) will be playing its fifth game in the last six days when it takes the field in Irvington, on Monday, for the first game of the best-of-three series. St. Joe (23-4), which took two of three from the Cavaliers during the regular season, has only played twice in that time frame, giving it a decided advantage in rested arms on its pitching staff.
The second game of the series will be played on Wednesday at Joe Cannon Stadium, as will the third, if necessary, on Friday.