Week 1 of the 2024 high school baseball season has come and gone, and the start to this season was very eventful with plenty of upsets and surprises.  Last week, we featured West Monroe and Catholic B.R. for our Week 1 Game of the Week, and it did not disappoint.  Game 1 ended up being a matchup that will likely be talked about for quite some time, as the Bears walked-off the Rebels in the bottom of the 9th inning, with 2024 William Schmidt (LSU signee) hitting a game-winning RBI single.  Catholic B.R. ended up sweeping West Monroe inthe three-game series, as the Bears won Game 2 by a score of 11-8 and Game 3 by a score of 6-2.  It'll be tough for any game to live up to the hype of that matchup last week, but we're sure there's more surprises in store for the rest of this season.  After reviewing this week's schedules of teams from across the state, we've decided on our Week 2 Game of the Week, which features St. Paul's and John Curtris Christian.  The Wolves nearly knocked off #1 Catholic B.R. on opening night, last monday, and currently own a 3-2 overall record, with their only losses coming at the hands of the Bears and Hewitt-Trussville, out of Alabama.  The Patriots upset then #6 Live Oak on opening night, last Monday, by a score of 9-4, and they currently own a 3-1 overall record, and broke into our Power 25 Rankings this week at #20.  Be sure to follow us, across all of our social media platforms, for our Week 2 Game of the Week!

 

St. Paul's HS vs. John Curtis Christian HS

 

-Date: Tuesday February 27, 2024

-Time: 4 P.M.

-Location: Mike Miley Stadium (Metairie, LA)

-St. Paul's HS (2024 Record): 3-2

-Head Coach: Mick Nunez

-John Curtis Christian HS (2024 Record): 3-1

-Head Coach: Jeff Curtis

 

-Key Players (St. Paul's): 2024 C Cooper Winchester (Air Force signee), 2024 3B/RHP Marcus Newfield, 2024 OF Lucas Newfield, 2024 RHP Braden Farizo, 2024 RHP/INF John Montour, 2024 UTIL James Hardwick, 2025 Aiden Ankersen, 2025 OF Jude Roberts, 2025 1B Cameron Caime, 2025 RHP/INF Easton Leblanc, 2026 MIF Brody Bouterie, 2026 OF Cody Corales, 2026 OF Brennan Villa

-Key Players (John Curtis Christian): 2024 C/OF Tyler Mitchell, 2024 INF Brad Chaisson, 2024 UTIL/RHP Dagan Bruno, 2024 RHP Anthony Macaluso, 2024 OF Isaiah Spann, 2024 OF/RHP Dylan Gilbert, 2025 RHP/OF Aiden Karr, 2025 RHP Juan Washington, 2025 INF/OF Xavier Brown, 2025 INF Jason Curtis, 2025 RHP/1B Bryce Hebert, 2026 MIF Connor Micheu (Southeastern Louisiana commit), 2026 OF Nate Alario, 2026 RHP/OF Kolston Martinez, 2026 C Jeffrey Curtis

GAME PREVIEW

St. Paul's travels down to Metairie, LA, on Tuesday February 27, 2024, to take on John Curtis Christian, in our Week 2 Game of the Week.  Both of these teams have gotten their seasons off to solid starts with St. Paul's owning a 3-2 record and John Curtis with a 3-1 record.  The Wolves nearly knocked off #1 Catholic B.R. on opening night last Monday, as they lost by a score of 6-5 in what ended up being a ten inning thriller.  They then lost to Alabama power Hewitt-Trussville, before reeling off three straight victories against Berwick, Zachary and Vandebilt Catholic.  St. Paul's has one of the best backstops in the state in senior Cooper Winchester.  The Air Force recruit hit at a .341 clip last season with 4 HR, 22 RBI, and a .476 OBP%.  Sophomore OF Cody Corales is a really good athlete and has gotten off to a good start this season, as he went 5-13 (.385) last week with a 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, and 3 R.  On the mound, senior RHP Braden Farizo logged 7 1/3 innings last week, while giving up 12 H, 7 R, and 0 ER with 4 BB and 7 K's.  Farizo took the no-decision against Catholic B.R. on opening night and then earned his first win of the season against Zachary.  Junior RHP Easton Leblanc tossed 7 innings last week, all in relief, and earned two wins against Berwick and Vandebilt Catholic.  John Curtis had arguably the biggest upset on opening night, last Monday, when they took down then #6 Live Oak, by a score of 9-4.  The Patriots lost to Covington last week, and picked up two more wins against Destrehan and Belle Chasse, to move their record to 3-1 heading into Week 2.  Junior Bryce Hebert had a monster first week, both at the plate and on the mound.  He went 6-12 (.500) with a HR, 2 2B, 8 RBI, and 2 R, and also earned two wins on the mound after tossing 8 1/3 innings.  John Curtis also has a couple of talented underclassmen at the top of their order in sophomores Connor Micheu and Nate Alario.  Micheu, a Southeastern Louisiana commit, went 3-11 (.273) last week with 2 RBI and 7 R, while Alario went 3-10 (.300) with 2 2B and 5 R.  We expect this to be a really good game with a playoff-like atmosphere on Tuesday night, and we wouldn't be surprised if it is a high-scoring affair as well.  

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