Baseball Preview: Tampa Catholic Crusaders vs. Jesuit Tigers
Tampa Catholic is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Jesuit is on a five-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will take on the Jesuit Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Tampa Catholic only won by two when they last took the field, which might have inspired the ten-point they dealt Indian Rocks Christian on Tuesday. Tampa Catholic blew past Indian Rocks Christian 11-1.
Trevor West looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (he also only allowed one walk).
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Charlie Parker, who scored a run while going 3-for-3. Cal Johnson was another key contributor, scoring two runs.
Meanwhile, Jesuit's hitters rose to the challenge against a Bulls pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.14 points allowed on Thursday. Jesuit's pitchers stepped up to hand Wiregrass Ranch a 10-0 shutout.
Aden Knowles looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Wilson Andersen relieved him and did a solid job, tossing 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Zane Pestalozzi, who went 1-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Sheffield, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Tampa Catholic has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. As for Jesuit, their win bumped their record up to 11-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Tampa Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Jesuit struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
