Baseball Game Preview: Bishop McNamara Fightin' Irish vs. Marian Catholic Spartans

The Bishop McNamara Fightin' Irish will head out to challenge the Marian Catholic Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Bishop McNamara has 11 straight wins, Marian Catholic has six straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Bishop McNamara lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Chicago Hope Academy, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Tuesday's matchup. The Fightin' Irish never let Chicago Hope Academy get on the board and left with a 10-0 victory on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Fightin' Irish, who have now won ten games by six runs or more so far this season.

Dom Panozzo

Batters Struck Out

05/13/25 vs Chicago Hope Academy	14
05/08/25 vs Bradley-Bourbonnais	5
04/28/25 @ Timothy Christian	11
04/19/25 @ Wheaton Academy	9
04/12/25 @ Pleasant Plains	8
04/03/25 vs Coal City	10

Chicago Hope Academy's batters probably weren't too happy with Dom Panozzo, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 14 Ks (he gave up a single walk). Panozzo has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jacob Lotz, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Taylor Fuerst was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs and one double.

Meanwhile, Marian Catholic lost 8-2 to Marist on Wednesday.

Marian Catholic saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ernie Ayala, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Bishop McNamara's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-6. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Marian Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-20.