St. John Paul II Academy is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Saint Andrew is on a six-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Eagles will host the Scots at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (St. John Paul II Academy 3.5, Saint Andrew's 3.3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
St. John Paul II Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They won by a run and slipped past Cardinal Newman 6-5. That's two games straight that the Eagles have won by just one run.
St. John Paul II Academy got a great performance from Jack Wilhoit as he tossed 5.2 innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Emmanuel Lantigua, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Connor Re, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, while Saint Andrew's put up some runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for Westminster Christian. The Scots were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over the Warriors. The Scots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten matches by seven runs or more this season.
Not much got past Carter Derks, who gave up just six hits and racked up six Ks to keep Westminster Christian off the board. Derks has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in nine consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Aaron Orozco was incredible, going 1-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Matt Spina, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
St. John Paul II Academy has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-10-1 record this season. As for Saint Andrew's, their win bumped their record up to 20-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. John Paul II Academy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Saint Andrew's struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. John Paul II Academy skirted past Saint Andrew's 1-0 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Do the Eagles have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Scots turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
