Baseball Game Preview: North Catholic Trojans vs. Hopewell Vikings

North Catholic is 0-3 against Hopewell since April of 2019 but things could change on Monday. The Trojans will square off against the Vikings at 4:00 p.m. North Catholic is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.

North Catholic's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They walked away with a 3-0 win over Carrick. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Trojans.

Jack Monaco

Batters Struck Out (Career)

04/04/25 vs Carrick	6
03/23/24 vs Grayslake Central	3
04/18/24 vs Blackhawk	2
04/16/24 vs Knoch	1

Jack Monaco looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high.

At the plate, North Catholic's victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Matthew Madonna, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Evan Giuliani also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, Thursday just wasn't the day for Hopewell's offense. They fell just short of Avonworth by a score of 1-0 on Thursday.

North Catholic pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.9 runs over those games. As for Hopewell, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-6.

Hopewell's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: North Catholic has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .447. It's a different story for Hopewell, though, as they've only averaged .226. Will they be able to contain North Catholic's hitters?

North Catholic came up short against Hopewell in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, falling 6-2. Can the Trojans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.