Baseball Recap: Catholic Central Takes a Loss

Catholic Central had lost five straight on the road, but on Wednesday they dropped their record down to 2-8 to make it six. They took a 7-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Jefferson County Christian Royals. The Crusaders were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Royals apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in April of 2023.

As for Jefferson County Christian, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 13-6. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games.

For Jefferson County Christian's part, EJ Keener made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Those 14 strikeouts gave Keener a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Wyatt Hervey, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. He is becoming a predictor of Jefferson County Christian's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is undefeated (and 3-6 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Carl Bonecutter, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Catholic Central will challenge Wellsville at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Tigers have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 11.33 runs per game on average), something the Crusaders will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Jefferson County Christian, they will take on Malvern at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Royals are facing the Hornets at the right time seeing as the Hornets are stuck on a three-game losing streak.