The St. John Paul II Catholic Lions are taking a road trip to challenge the Glendale Prep Academy Griffins at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday. St. John Paul II Catholic is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.2 runs per game this season.
St. John Paul II Catholic was handed a ten-run loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Monday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Scottsdale Preparatory Academy 6-5.
Carlos Pedroza
| 03/03/25 @ Bourgade Catholic | 4 |
| 03/18/25 @ San Tan Charter | 3 |
| 03/05/25 vs Heritage Academy | 3 |
| 04/14/25 vs Scottsdale Preparatory Academy | 1 |
| 03/28/25 vs ALA - Anthem South | 1 |
Carlos Pedroza and Wyatt Bacome were a major factor no matter where they played. Throwing, Pedroza struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Meanwhile, Bacome tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. St. John Paul II Catholic is 8-1 when Pedroza allows three or fewer earned runs, but 2-3 otherwise. At bat, Pedroza scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3, while Bacome scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Adrian Zaragoza, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Glendale Prep Academy entered their tilt with North Valley Christian Academy on Friday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. They put the hurt on the Lions with a sharp 10-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Griffins, who have now won nine matches by ten runs or more so far this season.
Not much got past Logan Middendorf, who gave up just a hit and racked up nine Ks to keep North Valley Christian Academy off the board. Middendorf has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Casey Kim was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Corbin Kim was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
Glendale Prep Academy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Valley Christian Academy only posted a batting average of .062.
St. John Paul II Catholic has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten games. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Glendale Prep Academy, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. St. John Paul II Catholic has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Glendale Prep Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went St. John Paul II Catholic's way against Glendale Prep Academy in their previous matchup back in April of 2021, as St. John Paul II Catholic made off with a 16-5 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lions since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
