The St. Joseph Academy Flashes will head out on the road to take on the North Florida Christian Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
St. Joseph Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Christ's Church Academy with a sharp 13-2 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for St. Joseph Academy considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
Jacob Guthmiller looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Connor Lewis was a standout: he scored three runs while going 3-for-3. Aiden Torrez was another key contributor, going 1-for-1 with three RBI, a triple, and a run.
Meanwhile, North Florida Christian had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 runs), and they went ahead and made it five on Wednesday. They never let the Panthers onto the board and left with an 11-0 win. Give North Florida Christian's pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
Noah Miller made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Miller was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jimmy Meeks, who went 1-for-2 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Jace Riggan, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
The victory (which was St. Joseph Academy's third in a row) raised their record to 20-8. As for North Florida Christian, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-6-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Joseph Academy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Florida Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Joseph Academy came up short against North Florida Christian in their previous meeting back in April of 2016, falling 3-0. Thankfully for St. Joseph Academy, Cole Ragans (who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out 13 over seven innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
