Baseball Preview: Bishop O'Connell Knights vs. Saint John Paul the Great Catholic Wolves
After three games on the road, Bishop O'Connell is heading back home. They will take on the Saint John Paul the Great Catholic Wolves at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Bishop O'Connell is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season.
Bishop O'Connell is ranked highly in their home state, and on Tuesday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of DeMatha. Bishop O'Connell walked away with a 7-3 win over DeMatha.
Drew Markey looked comfortable as he tossed 3.2 innings while giving up no earned run off three hits (he also didn't allow any walks). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Bishop O'Connell got a massive performance out of Jack Woda, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Truman Leckey, who went 2-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, sadly, Saint John Paul the Great Catholic is still looking for their first win of the season after four matches. They fell victim to a tough 15-5 defeat at the hands of St. Mary's Ryken on Saturday.
Charlie Skala was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
Bishop O'Connell pushed their record up to 4-2 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs per game. As for Saint John Paul the Great Catholic, their loss dropped their record down to 0-4.
Saint John Paul the Great Catholic's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Bishop O'Connell hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .326. It's a different story for Saint John Paul the Great Catholic, though, as they've only averaged .174. Will they be able to contain Bishop O'Connell's hitters?
Bishop O'Connell took their win against Saint John Paul the Great Catholic in their previous matchup back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 11-3. Will Bishop O'Connell repeat their success, or does Saint John Paul the Great Catholic have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
