Charlotte Catholic is a perfect 7-0 against East Mecklenburg since April of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Cougars will host the Eagles at 7:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Charlotte Catholic has nine straight wins, East Mecklenburg has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Charlotte Catholic's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Butler 12-0. The result was nothing new for the Cougars, who have now won 11 matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Alex Hoffman was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out seven over four innings pitched. He has been consistent : he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run and three runs.
Cooper Gornet
| 04/04/25 @ Butler | 4 |
| 03/21/25 vs Rocky River | 3 |
| 03/14/25 @ Independence | 3 |
| 03/11/25 vs Independence | 3 |
| 04/24/24 vs Christ the King | 3 |
In other batting news, Charlotte Catholic let Matt McKnight and Cooper Gornet run wild. McKnight went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one double, while Gornet scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. Those four hits gave Gornet a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Caden O'Neill, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Charlotte Catholic was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Butler only posted a batting average of .062.
Meanwhile, East Mecklenburg fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Independence on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Patriots by a score of 15-14.
Gabriel Johnson was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he struck out ten batters over 4.1 innings while giving up four earned runs off four hits. Johnson was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of his six plate appearances.
Johnson wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Samuel Thompson, who got on base in four of his six plate appearances with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. That home run was Thompson's first of the season. Malachi McCord was another, scoring two runs and stealing two bases.
Charlotte Catholic's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-2. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.8 runs over those games. As for East Mecklenburg, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Charlotte Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like East Mecklenburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Charlotte Catholic skirted past East Mecklenburg 2-0 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
