Baseball Game Preview: St. John Paul II Panthers vs. Dixie County Bears

The St. John Paul II Panthers will venture away from home to square off against the Dixie County Bears at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. St. John Paul II's pitching crew has only allowed 2.6 runs per game this season, so Dixie County's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

St. John Paul II will head out to face Dixie County after giving up their first home loss of the season on Friday. The Panthers fell 5-1 to Aucilla Christian. Having soared to a lofty 21 runs in the game before, the Panthers couldn't push the score so high this time.

Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Dixie County made sure to put some runs up on the board against P.K. Yonge on Friday. The Bears blew past the Blue Wave 15-5. The Bears haven't had any issues with the Blue Wave recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Dixie County let Joel Lord and Mason Jones run wild. Lord fired off two home runs, three runs, and three RBI while going 2-for-3, while Jones scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. That's the most runs Lord has posted since back in March of 2024. Gray Wampler was another key player, scoring three runs while going 2-for-3.

Dixie County was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .444. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

St. John Paul II's loss dropped their record down to 14-4. As for Dixie County, their victory bumped their record up to 7-12.

Dixie County's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. John Paul II hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .316. It's a different story for Dixie County, though, as they've only averaged .244. Will they be able to contain St. John Paul II's hitters?

St. John Paul II came out on top in a nail-biter against Dixie County when the teams last played back in February, sneaking past 2-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.