The Pope John Paul II Knights will take on the Mount Juliet Christian Academy Saints at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Pope John Paul II and Ensworth meet (two straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Knights lost 13-2 to the Tigers. The defeat continues a trend for the Knights in their meetings with the Tigers: they've now lost eight in a row.
Pope John Paul II got a good showing from Seger Evens, who pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. Evens has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Nate Webb made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Mount Juliet Christian Academy didn't have quite enough to beat Donelson Christian Academy on Wednesday and fell 3-2. The Saints have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Joey Edgerton put in work while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits (and only one walk). He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Mount Juliet Christian Academy is 4-2 when he allows at most two walks, but 3-7 otherwise. Edgerton was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Edgerton wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jonah Kleinmann, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Kayden Smith was another, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Mount Juliet Christian Academy's loss dropped their record down to 7-9. As for Pope John Paul II, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-15.
Pope John Paul II took their win against Mount Juliet Christian Academy when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 16-3 score. Will the Knights repeat their success, or do the Saints have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
