vs
| 04/02/24 - Away | 11-1 W |
| 02/20/23 - Home | 4-0 W |
| 04/19/22 - Home | 15-5 W |
Tampa Catholic is a perfect 3-0 against Indian Rocks Christian since April of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will head out to square off against the Indian Rocks Christian Eagles at 6:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Tampa Catholic has five straight wins, Indian Rocks Christian has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Tampa Catholic is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victor by an 18-1 margin over Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate on Thursday. With that victory, the Crusaders brought their scoring average up to 8 runs per game.
Drew Dunlop looked comfortable as he struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk).
At the plate, Tampa Catholic got a massive performance out of Cal Johnson, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-5. Johnson also put up two doubles, which werehis first of the season. Another player making a difference was Daniel Smythe, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one triple, and one double.
Tampa Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in February of 2024.
Meanwhile, Indian Rocks Christian lost 10-2 to Countryside on Tuesday.
Indian Rocks Christian saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Hunter Maddox, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Tampa Catholic pushed their record up to 5-0 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Indian Rocks Christian, they now have a losing record of 2-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Tampa Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Indian Rocks Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Tampa Catholic took their victory against Indian Rocks Christian in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 11-1. Does Tampa Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will Indian Rocks Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
