| AWAY | Â | HOME | |
|---|---|---|---|
| JOHN PAUL II CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL | VS | FAITH CHRISTIAN | |
| 12 | Â | 5 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Paul II Catholic High School | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 3 |
| Faith Christian | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
The John Paul II Catholic High School baseball team shook off the sting of a disappointing loss the day before with a 12-5 victory over host Faith Christian on a cold, raw Friday afternoon.
The Saints, who fell apart late after trailing Wayne Country Day 3-1 through five innings on Thursday, got solid pitching performances from juniors Aaron Gregory and Ethan Staton and banged out 11 hits on offense, with J.T. Williams, Nike Wiggins, Axel Keller, and Tyler Winkler getting two each. Keller had a triple, and Ryker Butcher and Ray Shaw had doubles. Noah Sugg had JPII’s other hit.
Gregory got the start on the mound and went the first three innings before Staton shut the door completely in the final four.Â
After Butcher’s two-out double in the first, Williams drove him in with a single to give the Saints a 1-0 lead. The Patriots scored a pair in their half of the second, before JPII went back up 4-2 with three runs in the top of the third. Shaw led off with a hit-by-pitch and took second on a four-pitch walk to Butcher. Both moved up a base after tagging up on a flyout to right by Wiliams. With two outs, Winkler reached on an error, scoring Shaw and Butcher. Winkler scored the third run of the inning on a bases-loaded walk to Gregory.
Faith scored its final three runs in the third to go up 5-4. JPII re-took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the fourth. Butcher reached on a one-out error and went to third on a single by Williams. After Williams stole second, Wiggins drove in Butcher with a single, moving Williams to third. Williams scored on a single by Winkler.
The Saints made it 7-5 in the fifth when James Donofrio eventually scored after a one-out walk. They put it away with five runs in the top of the seventh. Keller led off with his triple, followed by a walk to Gregory, who promptly stole second. Shaw drove in both with a double to left and went to third on an error. Butcher walked, then Wiggins singled to left to score Shaw and move Butcher to third. Butcher scored and Wiggins went to second on Sugg’s single. Winkler singled to load the bases, and Wiggins scored the final run on a walk to Keller.
Now 4-2 overall, JPII will play host to Pungo Christian on Monday and Bear Grass Charter on Thursday, and will hit the road in between those contests to face Rocky Mount Academy on Wednesday.
