The Omaha Central Eagles will venture away from home to take on the Gross Catholic Cougars at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Omaha Central has given up an average of 8 runs per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Omaha Central fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Grand Island on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Islanders by a score of 17-16. The defeat continues a trend for the Eagles in their meetings with the Islanders: they've now lost three in a row.
Joe Dougherty
| 03/28/25 @ Grand Island | 3 |
| 03/26/25 vs Bellevue West | 2 |
| 03/25/25 @ Bryan | 2 |
| 03/30/24 vs Benson | 2 |
| 03/27/24 @ Bellevue East | 2 |
Joe Dougherty was cooking despite his team's loss, going 3-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Marcus Kane also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Even though they lost, Omaha Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Gross Catholic beat Omaha South 9-5 on Thursday. The win continues a trend for the Cougars in their matchups with the Packers: they've now won four in a row.
Mercer Dougherty looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Griff Pechar, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Carson Kozeal, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Omaha Central's record now sits at 2-2. As for Gross Catholic, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Gross Catholic's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Omaha Central hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .372. It's a different story for Gross Catholic, though, as they've only averaged .247. Will they be able to contain Omaha Central's hitters?
Omaha Central came out on top in a nail-biter against Gross Catholic in their previous matchup back in March of 2023, sneaking past 3-1. Will Omaha Central repeat their success, or does Gross Catholic has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
