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

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Previous Games

05/14/24 - Home	10-0 W
05/06/23 - Away	2-1 W
04/29/23 - Away	2-1 W
04/28/22 - Home	5-4 W
05/13/21 - Away	3-0 W
+ 4 more games

Bergen Catholic is a perfect 9-0 against Pope John XXIII since May of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Crusaders will look to defend their home field against Pope John XXIII at 4:30 p.m. Bergen Catholic's pitching crew has only allowed 2.6 runs per game this season, so Pope John XXIII's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

If Bergen Catholic beats Pope John XXIII with ten runs on Thursday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. The Crusaders didn't even let St. Peter's Prep on the board on Tuesday, marking the Crusaders' second-straight 10-0 shutout. Considering the Crusaders have won six games by more than eight runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

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. Pope John XXIII hasn't had any issues with West Morris Mendham recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Pope John XXIII got a great performance from Beckett Weeks as he struck 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. Another player making a difference was Andrew Pami, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.

Bergen Catholic is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Pope John XXIII, they now have a winning record of 5-4.

Everything went Bergen Catholic's way against Pope John XXIII in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Bergen Catholic made off with a 10-0 win. Do the Crusaders have another victory up their sleeve, or will Pope John XXIII turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.