Baseball Recap: St. John Paul II Takes a Loss

If St. John Paul II was feeling good fresh off their 8-0 takedown of Madison County last Monday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The St. John Paul II Panthers fell just short of the Maclay Marauders by a score of 6-4 on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Panthers have suffered since April 2, 2024.

St. John Paul II saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jason Cantella, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. Levarius McClure II also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

St. John Paul II's defeat dropped their record down to 6-2. As for Maclay, they pushed their record up to 7-2 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season.

St. John Paul II and Maclay should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings. St. John Paul II will square off against Rickards at 6:00 p.m. on Friday up 318 places (175 vs. 493). St. John Paul II's pitching crew has only allowed 2.1 runs per game this season, so Maclay's hitters will have their work cut out for them. Meanwhile, Maclay (ranked 127th) will meet North Florida Christian (ranked 320th) at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.