The Bishop Kelly Knights will square off against the Columbia Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Bishop Kelly has five straight wins, Columbia has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Bishop Kelly lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Skyview, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Wednesday's matchup. The Knights put the hurt on the Hawks with a sharp 10-4 victory on Wednesday. Considering the Knights have won six contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Luca Quilici made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Bishop Kelly is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 4-6 otherwise. Quilici was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Lucas Blaine
| 04/02/25 @ Skyview | 3 |
| 03/27/25 @ Columbia | 2 |
| 05/11/24 vs Ridgevue | 2 |
| 05/06/24 vs Ridgevue | 2 |
| 04/19/24 @ Vallivue | 2 |
In other batting news, Bishop Kelly got a massive performance out of Lucas Blaine, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Those three runs gave Blaine a new career-high. Cole Keck was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Bishop Kelly kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.4 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 games they've averaged 11.4.
Meanwhile, Columbia came up short against Skyview on Tuesday, falling 7-1.
Bishop Kelly's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-7. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.3 runs over those games. As for Columbia, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-9.
Bishop Kelly took their win against Columbia in their previous matchup on Thursday by a conclusive 23-6 score. Do the Knights have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
