The Cocoa Beach Minutemen will face off against the John Carroll Catholic Rams at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Cocoa Beach barely beat Melbourne Central Catholic the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Minutemen blew past the Hustlers 11-3 on Monday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Minutemen.
Connor McGrew made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out nine batters over 4.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Colton Marshall
| 04/14/25 @ Melbourne Central Catholic | 4 |
| 03/04/25 @ Merritt Island | 3 |
| 04/08/25 @ Palm Bay | 2 |
| 03/13/25 @ Melbourne Central Catholic | 2 |
| 04/10/25 vs Calvary Chapel Academy | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Colton Marshall, who went 4-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kristian Wolfe, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Cocoa Beach kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. They are a perfect 7-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only John Carroll Catholic walked away with it. They were the clear victors by a 10-3 margin over the Tigers on Tuesday. The win was familiar territory for the Rams, who have now won five contests in a row.
Taggert Cameron was a standout: he went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That triple marked the first that he hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brycen Payne, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
John Carroll Catholic pushed their record up to 16-9 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Cocoa Beach, their victory bumped their record up to 15-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cocoa Beach has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like John Carroll Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
