NASHVILLE The Pope John Paul II High baseball team won Wednesday afternoon’s series finale at Father Ryan, claiming a 7-1 victory over the Irish to win two out of three games in the series.
Pope John Paul II High junior Jordan Weems hits a ground ball during Tuesday’s game against Father Ryan.
Pope John Paul II High junior shortstop Ben Brooks attempts to turn a double play during Tuesday evening’s game against Father Ryan. Brooks scored two runs in the Knights’ 7-1 victory over the Irish on Wednesday.
Junior Pace Dempsey and sophomore Jake Rucker collected three hits each.
Matt Steidl was the winning pitcher, allowing one run over four innings with four strikeouts.
Rucker pitched three scoreless innings of relief to close the game, earning a save.
PJP II (3-5 overall, 2-1 in the Division II-Class AA East/Middle Region) scored two runs in the fifth inning and three more in the seventh. Dempsey singled in junior Ben Brooks – who scored two runs – in the fifth, and Dempsey crossed the plate when senior Ryan Hatten singled two batters later.
Hatten singled in junior Jack Shuttleworth before sophomore Colin O’Berry’s pinch-hit double drove in Rucker and Hatten in the seventh inning.
Jake Rucker
Both Hatten and sophomore Grayson Lang recorded two hits, and Lang stole two bases.
Father Ryan did not commit an error, one day after being charged with eight miscues in Tuesday evening’s 6-5 victory at PJP II.
The lone Irish run came in the fourth inning as senior Curtis Turnmyre singled in classmate Devin Crudele.
Turnmyre and junior Matt Faulkner led Father Ryan with two hits each.
The Knights host three out-of-state opponents over two days as PJP II faces Cincinnati (Ohio) LaSalle on Monday evening. The Knights host Madison (Ohio) and Nazareth (Ill.) Academy on Tuesday for a doubleheader before resuming region play in a three-game series against Montgomery Bell Academy beginning on Thursday.