vs
| 02/29/20 - Neutral | 6-3 W |
| 03/26/19 - Away | 5-3 W |
| 03/20/18 - Home | 10-6 W |
Catholic is a perfect 3-0 against University Lab since March of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Bears and the Cubs will meet for a tough Bear Battle. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Catholic sitting on six straight wins and University Lab on nine.
Last Monday, Catholic made easy work of St. Martin's Episcopal and carried off a 9-2 victory. The Bears might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 13 games by seven runs or more this season.
Tanner Forbes looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Jack Ruckert was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4. What's more, he posted two doubles, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Edward Henriquez, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Catholic was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .382. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask University Lab). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Madison Prep Academy a 15-0 shutout on Tuesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Luke Ewing made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Ewing was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, University Lab got a big performance out of Lane Mixon, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Zach Joubert also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
University Lab's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-7. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Catholic, their record now sits at 23-4.
Catholic beat University Lab 6-3 in their previous meeting back in February of 2020. Will the Bears repeat their success, or do the Cubs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
