Gibbons Falls 4-3 To St. John Paul In Title Game

St. John Paul is a team that came within one game of advancing to the state Final Four in 2A last year. A 6-4 loss to St. Andrew’s in Game Three of the regional finals, is all that kept the Eagles from reaching their state goals.

In 2026, the Eagles lost many of the players that led the team to that regional final appearance, and there were many questions about how good the team would look in the new year.

St. John moved a long way towards answering those questions in the first week, closing out a perfect 3-0 week with a 4-3 win over Cardinal Gibbons on Friday, taking home the title in the HSBN First Pitch Elite tourney.

“We lost a lot of guys off that team last year, and we weren’t sure what to expect coming into this season,” said Eagles Manager Pete Graffeo. “We played very well this week, and its always nice to start the season with three wins, especially with the level of competition we faced this week.”

The Eagles opened the season against perennial power North Broward Prep, and took care of business 6-1 in that game. They then grinded out a 2-1 win over ABF Hialeah, which led to a championship game match up Friday with Cardinal Gibbons.

The Chiefs, who traditionally start slow, came out of the gates strong, defeating ABF and Wellington by a combined 14-2 score.

That set the stage of Friday’s title game, between two teams who are built on nearly identical coaching styles from Graffeo and Gibbons Manager Jason Hamilton.

The game played out as most games between the two teams have throughout the years, with both Gibbons and St. John Paul playing an aggressive style of offense on the basepaths.

A 1-1 game turned into a 4-1 game in the third inning, when the Eagles used timely hitting and aggressive baserunning to build the three run lead.

“It’s always an advantage when you get early runs, and can settle into the game,” said Graffeo. “But we knew, like we always do when we face Gibbons, that the game would eventually get tight.”

That it did, as Gibbons fought back with two runs in the sixth to make it a one-run game. The Chiefs had several opportunities to tie the game in the sixth and seventh innings, but were unable to get the big hit necessary to get the game tied.”

“It seems like we play these type games against them almost every year,” said Hamilton. “Pete is one of my closest friends in the coaching circles down here, and he always has his team prepared to play. They made more plays than we did today, and that was the difference in the game.”

Both coaches understood what playing these type games early in the year can do for their squads down the road.

“I told the guys just now, these are the type games they are going to be in at the end of the year,” said Graffeo. “Every game come playoff time seems like it comes down to a play here, or a play there. So it is always good to experience these type of games early.”

Gibbons is a team that typically starts slow under Hamilton, but gets better as the season goes on, a testament to the coaching that Hamilton and his staff provide.

“We made a lot of mistakes today, mistakes that will be corrected. But overall, any time you an go 2-1 in a three-game week to start the year, you have to look at it as a positive. Of course we wanted to win today, but games like this happen. It’s a good learning experience.”

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