The Bishop McCort Crushers will be taking part in a tournament against the United Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Bishop McCort will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Bishop McCort barely beat Homer-Center the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Crushers were the clear victors by an 11-1 margin over the Wildcats on Monday. Considering the Crushers have won three contests by more than seven runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for United, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They walked away with a 6-1 win over Conemaugh Valley on Wednesday. The victory continues a trend for the Lions in their matchups with the Blue Jays: they've now won three in a row.
Brendan James made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because United is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 0-3 otherwise. James was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ryan Felix, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Cole McGinnis, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI.
United kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are 2-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
Bishop McCort pushed their record up to 3-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for United, the win got them back to even at 3-3.
Bishop McCort was able to grind out a solid victory over United when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 9-4. Do the Crushers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Lions turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
