The Northlake Christian Wolverines will head out to square off against the Pope John Paul II Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Having struggled with four defeats in a row, Northlake Christian turned things around against French Settlement on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged out the Lions 3-1.
Eli Shoemake made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. What's more, he gave up only zero earned runs, the fewest he's had since back in February. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in February.
Shoemake wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Luke McAdams, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Pope John Paul II gave up the first runs last Wednesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past St. Thomas Aquinas 3-1. The Jaguars haven't had any issues with the Falcons recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
Like Northlake Christian, Pope John Paul II also got a great game from a two-way player: Nate Babin. On the mound, he pitched seven innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Babin has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Blaze Rodriguez, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI.
Pope John Paul II's record now sits at 16-7. As for Northlake Christian, they now have a winning record of 12-11-1.
Northlake Christian came out on top in a nail-biter against Pope John Paul II in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, sneaking past 4-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Northlake Christian since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
