Bradford is 1-8 against Elk County Catholic since April of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Owls will host the Crusaders at 4:15 p.m.
Bradford fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against DuBois Central Catholic on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Cardinals by a score of 7-6.
Tarren Reese
| 04/10/26 @ Kane | 5 |
| 03/30/26 vs Punxsutawney | 5 |
| 04/16/26 @ Brookville | 3 |
| 03/25/26 vs Johnsonburg | 2 |
| 04/24/26 @ DuBois Central Catholic | 1 |
Tarren Reese was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he struck out six batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). He is becoming a predictor of Bradford's success: when he allows at most two earned runs the team is 2-1 (and 1-7 when he doesn't). Reese was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
Reese wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Lucas Wallace, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Meanwhile, Elk County Catholic waltzed into their game on Friday with nine straight wins... but they left with ten. They put the hurt on the Flying Dutch with a sharp 11-2 win. Considering the Crusaders have won seven matchups by more than seven runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Bradford, Elk County Catholic also got a great game from a two-way player: Matthew Gilmore. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Those ten strikeouts gave Gilmore a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
In other batting news, Elk County Catholic let Jack Breindel and Frankie Smith run wild. Breindel went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Smith got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Gideon Cronk was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Bradford's defeat dropped their record down to 3-8. As for Elk County Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 10-2.
Bradford couldn't quite finish off Elk County Catholic in their previous meeting back in April of 2025 and fell 4-2. Can the Owls avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
