The Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association Patriots will square off against the Bishop O'Connell Knights at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are still undefeated (Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association has four wins , while Bishop O'Connell has 26 dating back to last season).
Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Christchurch School 14-0. Considering the Patriots have won three matches by more than six runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Madison Machotka was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. She also hit a double, marking her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Lucia Fischi, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of her three plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Bishop O'Connell got the win against Our Lady of Good Counsel on Friday by a conclusive 16-2. The Knights are also no stranger to big wins: their blowout was the third game they've won by 6+ runs this season.
Bri Lencz and Ella Fletcher were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Lencz struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Fletcher tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the first time she hasn't allowed a single hit since back in May of 2024. At the plate, Lencz went 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Fletcher scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Those two hits gave Fletcher a new career-high.
In other batting news, MJ Melvin was a standout: she scored four runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April of 2024. Callie Lissenden was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and one stolen base.
Bishop O'Connell was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .581. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .318 or higher in six consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Bishop O'Connell's victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.4 runs over those games. As for Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association, their victory bumped their record up to 4-0.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Bishop O'Connell struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association suffered a grim 9-0 defeat to Bishop O'Connell in their previous meeting back in March of 2023. Can Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
