Baseball Game Preview: Dwyer Panthers vs. St. John Paul II Academy Eagles

The Dwyer Panthers are taking a road trip to square off against the St. John Paul II Academy Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Dwyer is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.

While Dwyer's victory against Centennial wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Panthers narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Eagles 10-9. The victory continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won three in a row.

Rocco Bianco

Runs

04/07/25 vs Centennial	2
03/21/25 vs Royal Palm Beach	2
03/20/25 vs St. Albans	2
03/11/25 vs Benjamin	2
03/03/25 vs Central	2
+ 6 more games

Rocco Bianco was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. Dwyer is 5-1 when Bianco posts two or more runs, but 6-7 otherwise. Tyler Thrush also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.

Dwyer was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. The last time their batting average was this high was back in May of 2024.

Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but St. John Paul II Academy ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Spanish River, sneaking past 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Eagles have posted since February 28th.

St. John Paul II Academy saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Emmanuel Lantigua, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits Lantigua has posted since back in March of 2024. Another was Tommy Ciaccio, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

St. John Paul II Academy's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 14-7-1. As for Dwyer, their record is now 11-8.

Dwyer was able to grind out a solid win over St. John Paul II Academy in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, winning 8-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.