The Grace Christian Patriots will square off against the Canterbury Crusaders at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Grace Christian took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They blew past Riverview Academy of Math and Science 14-4. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won four games by seven runs or more so far this season.
Ian Johns
| 03/11/25 vs Riverview Academy of Math and Science | 5 |
| 02/22/24 vs Keswick Christian | 4 |
| 03/05/24 vs Eastland Christian | 3 |
| 02/21/25 vs Hernando Christian Academy | 2 |
| 04/23/24 @ Indian Rocks Christian | 2 |
Ian Johns made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances. That stolen base was his first of the season.
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. The team also got some help courtesy of Cedric Walden, who scored two runs and stole Three bases.
Meanwhile, Canterbury entered their tilt with Admiral Farragut on Wednesday with four consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with five. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the BlueJackets a 7-0 shutout. Give the Crusaders' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
Gabriel Blaxberg made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 15 over six innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, 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.
Grace Christian has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. Canterbury's victory bumped their record up to 5-2.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Grace Christian has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Canterbury struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.6 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.
