The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will square off against the St. Petersburg Green Devils at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in Tampa Catholic's favor as the team sits on seven straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while St. Petersburg has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.
If Tampa Catholic beats St. Petersburg with five runs on Friday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Tampa Catholic came out on top against Clearwater Central Catholic by a score of 5-1 on Thursday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Talan Miranda looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single hits in four consecutive appearances.
Lucas Cinnante
| 02/27/25 vs Clearwater Central Catholic | 2 |
| 02/15/25 @ Seffner Christian | 1 |
| 02/13/25 @ Berkeley Prep | 1 |
| 03/01/24 @ Jesuit | 1 |
At the plate, Tampa Catholic saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lucas Cinnante, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. The dominant performance gave Cinnante a new career-high in stolen bases. Cole Bitman also deserves some recognition as he stole his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Tuesday just wasn't the day for St. Petersburg's offense. They took a 5-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of IMG Academy Navy on Tuesday.
St. Petersburg also got a good showing from Brooks Ceras, who pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
St. Petersburg's defeat dropped their record down to 1-4-1. As for Tampa Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 8-0.
St. Petersburg's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Tampa Catholic has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .433. It's a different story for St. Petersburg, though, as they've only averaged .297. Will they be able to contain Tampa Catholic's hitters?
Tampa Catholic took their win against St. Petersburg when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 9-0. Does Tampa Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will St. Petersburg turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
