Baseball Game Preview: St. Petersburg Catholic Barons vs. IMG Academy Navy Ascenders

The St. Petersburg Catholic Barons will take on the IMG Academy Navy Ascenders in a tournament on Tuesday. St. Petersburg Catholic is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.

St. Petersburg Catholic fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against University Christian on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Christians by a score of 4-3.

Sam Newman

Batters Struck Out

03/17/25 @ University Christian	3
03/04/25 @ Northside Christian	0
02/26/25 vs Northeast	1
02/18/25 vs Dunedin	1
02/12/25 vs Palm Harbor University	4

Sam Newman put in work while hitting and pitching. He tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in February. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.

In other pitching news, St. Petersburg Catholic got a good showing from Troy Burke, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Burke has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.

Newman wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Ethan Carbonell, who went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases and one double. The dominant performance gave Carbonell a new career-high in hits. Another was Aidan Heelan, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-5.

Meanwhile, IMG Academy Navy has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.08 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Monday. They lost 13-2 to Treasure Coast. The Ascenders' loss continues a trend for the team, making it three in a row.

Omari Swinton made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.

St. Petersburg Catholic's record is now 6-9. As for IMG Academy Navy, their record now sits at 8-4.