The Central Catholic Fighting Irish will take on the Brother Rice Warriors at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Central Catholic will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Friday, then bounced right back against Wauseon on Thursday. The Fighting Irish put the hurt on the Indians with a sharp 12-2 win. The victory continues a trend for the Fighting Irish in their matchups with the Indians: they've now won six in a row.
Beau Gardner was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-5 with four stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.
Dre Wardrop
| 05/08/25 @ Wauseon | 5 |
| 04/27/25 @ Whitmer | 4 |
| 04/30/25 vs St. John's Jesuit | 2 |
| 04/25/25 vs Catholic Central | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dre Wardrop, who went a perfect 5-for-5 with five stolen bases and four runs. He is becoming a predictor of Central Catholic's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 2-1 (and 3-13 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Preston Fryzel, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Brother Rice, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. Everything went their way against Central on Wednesday as they made off with an 11-1 win. The Warriors not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since April 28th (when they won 11-1).
Blake Ilitch tossed a big game, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted over his last two games.
On the hitting side, Broder Katke was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Cash Van Ameyde, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one triple.
Brother Rice always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Central Catholic's victory bumped their record up to 5-14. As for Brother Rice, their win bumped their record up to 14-10-1.
Central Catholic suffered a grim 10-2 defeat to Brother Rice in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Will the Fighting Irish have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
