The Central Bears will take on the Bishop McLaughlin Catholic Hurricanes in a tournament on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Bishop McLaughlin Catholic will be up against a hot Central team: the squad just extended their winning streak to five. Central's pitchers stepped up to hand Fivay a 13-0 shutout on Friday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Bears considering their two-run performance the game before.
Alex Mahaney was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Brodee Haas was another key player, scoring two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Fivay only posted an OBP of .350.
Meanwhile, everything went Bishop McLaughlin Catholic's way against Citrus on Friday as Bishop McLaughlin Catholic made off with a 7-0 victory.
Dylan McNeil looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April of 2024.
At the plate, Dominic Zito was incredible, scoring two runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Elyvis Quezada, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three RBI.
Bishop McLaughlin Catholic has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. Central pushed their record up to 8-4 with the win, which was their third straight at home.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Central has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Bishop McLaughlin Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Central couldn't quite get it done against Bishop McLaughlin Catholic when the teams last played back in March of 2023 as they fell 7-2. Can Central avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
