The Bishop O'Connell Knights will square off against the DeMatha Stags at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Bishop O'Connell's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while DeMatha has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.
Bishop O'Connell is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Virginia's top teams: Highland, who was ranked fourth at the time (Bishop O'Connell was ranked fifth). The Knights came out on top in a nail-biter against the Hawks on Wednesday, sneaking past 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Knights have posted since April 28, 2025.
Shota Fogus
| 03/25/26 vs Highland | 8 |
| 03/20/26 vs St. Anne's-Belfield | 7 |
| 03/09/26 vs Saint John Paul the Great Catholic | 7 |
| 03/11/25 @ Our Lady of Good Counsel | 7 |
| 04/16/25 vs Gonzaga | 6 |
Shota Fogus looked comfortable as he struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk). Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
At the plate, Jack Woda was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. Bryant James was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Meanwhile, DeMatha earned an 8-3 win over The Heights on Tuesday.
DeMatha also got a great performance from Grayson Candy as he struck out six batters over 5.1 innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits (and only one walk).
On the hitting side, Zach Perlin was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Franklin Zerpa, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one double.
Bishop O'Connell's victory bumped their record up to 7-1. As for DeMatha, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
DeMatha's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Bishop O'Connell hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .422. It's a different story for DeMatha, though, as they've only averaged .226. Will they be able to contain Bishop O'Connell's hitters?
Bishop O'Connell couldn't quite finish off DeMatha in their previous meeting back in March of 2025 and fell 3-1. Will the Knights have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
