Baseball Preview: Central Jaguars vs. Pensacola Catholic Crusaders
The Central Jaguars will head out on the road to challenge the Pensacola Catholic Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Central comes in on 12 and Pensacola Catholic on eight.
Central put the finishing touches on their eighth blowout victory of the season on Monday. They put the hurt on Lighthouse Private Christian Academy with a sharp 16-1 victory.
Dylen Houk and Quincy Wilson made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Houk struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). Meanwhile, Wilson tossed two innings while giving up no earned run off two hits. Houk has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single walk in four consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Houk scored two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances, while Wilson got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs, a triple, and an RBI.
In other batting news, Justin Smarr was incredible, scoring three runs while going 3-for-4. Payton Holland was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with four RBI and a double.
Meanwhile, Pensacola Catholic can now show off eight landslide victories after their most recent match on Monday. They never let Fort Walton Beach onto the board and left with an 11-0 win. That's two games straight that Pensacola Catholic has won by exactly 11 runs.
Fort Walton Beach's batters probably weren't too happy with Parker Granse, who pitched a no hitter (he gave up two walks).
On the hitting side, Vaughn Howard was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-1. The team also got some help courtesy of Chris Rembert, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Central pushed their record up to 12-0 with that victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.2 runs per game. As for Pensacola Catholic, their record now sits at 12-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Central has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pensacola Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
