St. John Paul II Catholic barely beat Scottsdale Preparatory Academy the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Lions blew past the Spartans 12-2 on Monday. That's two games straight that the Lions have won by exactly ten runs.
Carlos Pedroza and James Pierski made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Pedroza pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Pierski struck out nine batters over 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Pedroza has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. At bat, Pedroza went 3-for-4 with three RBI and one double, while Pierski went 2-for-3 with two RBI. That's the most hits Pedroza has posted since back in February.
In other batting news, St. John Paul II Catholic let Ethan Martinez and Derek Guzman run wild. Martinez went a perfect 2-for-2 with two doubles, one run, and one RBI, while Guzman went 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. St. John Paul II Catholic is undefeated when Guzman posts two or more runs, but 3-5 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Wyatt Bacome, who went 1-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
St. John Paul II Catholic was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Lions
| 04/13/26 @ Scottsdale Preparatory Academy | 12-2 |
| 04/01/26 vs Trivium Prep | 15-5 |
| 03/27/26 @ ALA - Anthem South | 19-3 |
| 03/20/26 vs Mohave Accelerated | 13-8 |
The victory (which was St. John Paul II Catholic's fourth in a row) raised their record to 7-5. The team dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 10.2 runs. As for Scottsdale Preparatory Academy, they are on a ten-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-13.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. St. John Paul II Catholic will welcome Glendale Prep Academy at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday. The Lions' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Griffins have averaged an impressive 8.7 runs per game this season. As for Scottsdale Preparatory Academy, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Williams at 2:45 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps