With a playoff win on the line, St. John Paul II Academy rose to the challenge on Thursday. They had just enough and edged out the True North Classical Academy Titans 6-5. That's the third time they've managed to beat them this season, with their most recent win being a 5-1 victory on Tuesday.
St. John Paul II Academy got a great performance from Jack Wilhoit as he struck out six batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off five hits. Wilhoit has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.

Derek Dohler
04/24/25 vs True North Classical Academy | 2 |
03/20/25 @ Chaminade-Madonna | 1 |
03/12/25 vs Westminster Academy | 1 |
02/18/25 vs Oxbridge Academy | 1 |
02/10/25 @ Miami Christian | 1 |
At the plate, Derek Dohler was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Thomas Velardi, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI.
St. John Paul II Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .595. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as True North Classical Academy only posted an OBP of .371.
St. John Paul II Academy's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-9-1. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 1.5 runs across that stretch. As for True North Classical Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 18-9.
Coming up, St. John Paul II Academy will venture away from home to take on Cardinal Newman at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The Crusaders will roll in looking for their sixth straight win, something the Eagles surely won't give up without a fight. True North Classical Academy does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps