The Dominican Knights will head out on the road to face off against the Brookfield Academy Blue Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Brookfield Academy will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Dominican extended their winning streak to three on Wednesday. The Knights put the hurt on Pulaski with a sharp 20-5 victory. Considering the Knights have won five contests by more than seven runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Amarae Richardson was a standout: he scored three runs and stole five bases while getting on base in both of his plate appearances. Gabe Chacon also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Dominican always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .600. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
While Brookfield Academy didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-13), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They were the clear victors by a 16-6 margin over Milwaukee Lutheran on Wednesday. The Blue Knights' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Brookfield Academy got a big performance out of Luke Rogutich, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-3. Those three stolen bases gave Rogutich a new career-high. Connor Nicholson was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
Brookfield Academy's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-0. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.7 runs over those games. As for Dominican, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Dominican has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Brookfield Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Dominican was able to grind out a solid win over Brookfield Academy when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 7-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Knights since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
