The Pope John Paul II Jaguars will square off against the Northlake Christian Wolverines at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Pope John Paul II is headed into the match having just posted their closest win since February 26th on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against St. Thomas Aquinas, sneaking past 3-1. The Jaguars haven't had any issues with the Falcons recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
Nate Babin
| 03/26/25 vs St. Thomas Aquinas | 1 |
| 03/07/25 @ Archbishop Hannan | 1 |
| 02/22/25 @ St. Amant | 0 |
Nate Babin was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Blaze Rodriguez was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Northlake Christian can bid farewell to their four-game losing streak thanks to their game on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over French Settlement.
Like Pope John Paul II, Northlake Christian also got a great game from a two-way player: Eli Shoemake. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. Shoemake also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Northlake Christian is 4-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 8-9-1 otherwise. Shoemake was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in February.
Shoemake wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Luke McAdams, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Northlake Christian now has a winning record of 12-11-1. As for Pope John Paul II, their victory bumped their record up to 16-7.
Pope John Paul II couldn't quite finish off Northlake Christian in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 4-2. Will Pope John Paul II have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
