The Perkiomen Valley Vikings will square off against Pope John Paul II at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Perkiomen Valley 4, Pope John Paul II 1.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Pope John Paul II will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Perkiomen Valley extended their winning streak to four on Tuesday. The Vikings came out on top against Pottstown by a score of 7-4. That's two games straight that the Vikings have won by exactly three runs.
Chase Kelly and Chris Horgan dominated on the mound. Kelly tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits, while Horgan pitched four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off two hits. The dominant performance also gave Horgan a new career-high in strikeouts (four).
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Aidan Autovino, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. Ryan King also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Pope John Paul II, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Phoenixville a 15-0 shutout on Monday. The result was nothing new for Pope John Paul II, who have now won four games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Carson Glose made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, AJ Diaddezio was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Tyler Timdall was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
Pope John Paul II always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .607. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Phoenixville only posted an OBP of .333.
Pope John Paul II's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Perkiomen Valley, their win bumped their record up to 8-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Perkiomen Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pope John Paul II struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Perkiomen Valley suffered a grim 10-4 defeat to Pope John Paul II when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Vikings avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
