The St. Paul's Prep Lions will square off against the Harvest Christian Academy Saints at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
St. Paul's Prep is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top against Trinity Christian Academy by a score of 13-3 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game).
Mateo Talavera made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one double. He has become a key player for St. Paul's Prep: the team is 6-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 2-4 otherwise.
| 04/22/25 vs Trinity Christian Academy | 3 |
| 04/14/25 vs Dallas Academy | 1 |
| 03/25/25 @ Dallas Academy | 2 |
| 03/20/25 vs Coram Deo Academy Rhetoric | 2 |
| 03/18/25 @ Coram Deo Academy Rhetoric | 1 |
| 03/17/25 @ Trinity Christian Academy | 5 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Miguel Rios, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Lukas DiBenedetto, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, two RBI, and one double.
St. Paul's Prep was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Harvest Christian Academy got themselves on the board against Coram Deo Academy Rhetoric on Tuesday, but Coram Deo Academy Rhetoric never followed suit. They blew past the Lions 15-0. The win was nothing new for the Saints as they're now sitting on eight straight.
Elijah Mann was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Judah Mann, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Harvest Christian Academy's victory was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 19-2. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for St. Paul's Prep, their victory bumped their record up to 8-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Paul's Prep has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Harvest Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Paul's Prep suffered a grim 13-3 defeat to Harvest Christian Academy in their previous meeting last Thursday. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
