The Grace Christian Academy Cougars will hit the road for the first time this season to square off against the St. John Paul II Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Grace Christian Academy is headed out to face St. John Paul II after opening their season at home and giving their fans just what they were looking for. Grace Christian Academy came out on top against Westover by a score of 8-5 on Friday.
Oathen Atkinson and Aiden Whittaker were a major factor no matter where they played. On the mound, Atkinson pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Whittaker struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Furthermore, Atkinson didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in March of 2024. At bat, Atkinson scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Whittaker scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The dominant performance gave Atkinson a new career-high in stolen bases.
Noah Smith
| 02/21/25 vs Westover | 4 |
| 04/15/24 @ Fullington Academy | 2 |
| 03/18/24 vs St. John Paul II | 2 |
| 03/04/24 @ Crisp Academy | 2 |
| 04/18/24 vs Fullington Academy | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Noah Smith, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those four stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
Meanwhile, St. John Paul II is still undefeated this season after their contest against North Florida Christian on Friday, but North Florida Christian came as close as anyone has to beating them. St. John Paul II's pitcher stepped up to hand North Florida Christian a 2-0 shutout.
North Florida Christian's batters probably weren't too happy with Mason Avant, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 13 Ks (he gave up a single walk).
On the hitting side, St. John Paul II's win was truly a team effort as two different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Jaxon Pelham, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Grace Christian Academy suffered a grim 13-3 defeat to St. John Paul II when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can Grace Christian Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
