Baseball Game Preview: Pope John XXIII vs. Bergen Catholic Crusaders

Pope John XXIII hasn't had much luck against Bergen Catholic recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. Pope John XXIII will head out to face off against Bergen Catholic at 4:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Pope John XXIII came out on top against West Morris Mendham on Wednesday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run first inning. Pope John XXIII walked away with a 6-1 victory over West Morris Mendham. The win made it back-to-back victories for Pope John XXIII.

Beckett Weeks tossed a big game, striking out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and not a single walk).

On the hitting side, Jack Portman was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2024. Nick Struble also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, while Bergen Catholic put up some runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for St. Peter's Prep. The Crusaders didn't even let the Marauders on the board, marking the Crusaders' second-straight 10-0 shutout. The Crusaders might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matches by nine runs or more this season.

Bergen Catholic is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Pope John XXIII, they now have a winning record of 5-4.

Pope John XXIII suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Bergen Catholic in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Can Pope John XXIII avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.