Baseball Preview: Phoenixville Phantoms vs. Pope John Paul II
Phoenixville has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against Pope John Paul II at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Phoenixville's pitching crew has only allowed 3.3 runs per game this season, so Pope John Paul II's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
On Wednesday, Phoenixville earned a 4-1 win over Perkiomen Valley.
Ryan Jacobson was excellent, scoring a run while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Kevin Kingsbury, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought contest, but Pope John Paul II had to settle for an 11-10 defeat against Spring-Ford on Wednesday. Pope John Paul II has struggled against Spring-Ford recently, as their matchup on Wednesday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
Carson Glose and AJ Diaddezio stepped up to the plate in a big way. Glose scored three runs while going 4-for-5, while Diaddezio went 1-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Chase Frantz was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, a double, and an RBI.
Even though they lost, Pope John Paul II was hitting in the alleys and finished the game with four doubles. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Spring-Ford only hit a.
Phoenixville has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-6 record this season. As for Pope John Paul II, their loss dropped their record down to 13-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Phoenixville has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pope John Paul II struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Phoenixville came up short against Pope John Paul II in their previous meeting back in April, falling 5-0. Can Phoenixville avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
