The Gross Catholic Cougars will head out to face off against the Mercy Monarchs at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Gross Catholic has three straight wins, Mercy has six straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Gross Catholic is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by an 18-2 margin over Buena Vista on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Cougars, who have now won seven games by six runs or more so far this season.
Clara Meeker made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched two innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (four). She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Gross Catholic got a massive performance out of Brynn Hofmann, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Julianna Braun was another key player, earning five RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Gross Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Gretna East hit Mercy with a four-run first inning on Saturday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Monarchs lost 10-1 to the Griffins.
Rae Carmichael made the most of her time in the batter's box despite the final result and went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Mercy's defeat dropped their record down to 6-20. As for Gross Catholic, their record now sits at 9-11.
Gross Catholic couldn't quite get it done against Mercy in their previous matchup back in September of 2024 as they fell 12-8. Can the Cougars avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
