The Aucilla Christian Warriors will challenge the St. John Paul II Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Aucilla Christian: 3.2, St. John Paul II: 2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
If Aucilla Christian beats St. John Paul II with 12 runs on Friday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. Aucilla Christian beat Brookwood on Tuesday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 12-1. Aucilla Christian might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by nine runs or more this season.
Shaw Lundy
Shaw Lundy and Cooper Wiles made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Lundy pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Wiles pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Lundy also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Aucilla Christian is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-2 otherwise. At bat, Lundy scored a run while going 1-for-4, while Wiles scored three runs while going 2-for-4. That's the most runs Wiles has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Ben Gamalero and Dalton Demott did most of the damage at the plate: Gamalero scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Demott scored a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. What's more, Demott posted two hits, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Bass, who went 1-for-2 with three RBI.
Aucilla Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Wednesday just wasn't the day for St. John Paul II's offense. They came up short against Suwannee on Wednesday, falling 6-0. The Panthers' loss signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Aucilla Christian's win bumped their record up to 4-2. As for St. John Paul II, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 4-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Aucilla Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. John Paul II struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Aucilla Christian took their victory against St. John Paul II when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 10-1. Will Aucilla Christian repeat their success, or does St. John Paul II have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
