Baseball Game Preview: Pensacola Catholic Crusaders vs. Central Jaguars

The Pensacola Catholic Crusaders will square off against the Central Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Pensacola Catholic will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.

On Thursday, Pensacola Catholic got the win against Crestview by a conclusive 13-1. The result was nothing new for the Crusaders, who have now won five matches by ten runs or more so far this season.

Gabe Mercado

Base on Balls Against

03/27/25 @ Crestview	1
03/17/25 vs Noble	1
03/13/25 @ Milton	0
03/12/25 vs Pace	2
03/07/25 vs Faith Academy	2

Gabe Mercado spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Colton Guillot was excellent, scoring three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Lane Grissett, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, Central unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Thursday. They came up short against Tate, falling 8-1. The contest marked the Jaguars' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Quincy Wilson was cooking despite his team's loss, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases and one RBI.

Pensacola Catholic's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-7. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Central, their loss dropped their record down to 12-2.

Pensacola Catholic beat Central 3-0 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Does Pensacola Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will Central turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.