Central Catholic had lost six straight on the road, but on Thursday they dropped down to 7-11 to make it seven. They fell just short of the Defiance Bulldogs by a score of 3-2. If the Irish were looking for revenge after losing 8-0 to the Bulldogs when the teams met back in May of 2025, then they'll just have to keep looking.
Luke Smith was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits.
At the plate, Gavin Eckhart was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season.
As for Defiance, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-4. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 2 run in those games.
On Defiance's side, Ike Webb spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits and racked up 11 Ks. Webb has become a key player for the Bulldogs: the team is undefeated when he allows at most two earned runs, but 3-4 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Defiance saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Grady Crist, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming contests. Central Catholic will challenge Brother Rice at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The Warriors' pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so the Irish's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Defiance, they will square off against Kenton at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
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