After winning their first two games of the competition, the top-seed Bishop O’Connell Knights (20-9) lost two straight during the semifinal round and were eliminated from the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference baseball tournament.
Next for the high-school team is the Division I private-school state tourney, in which O’Connell likely will be among the top three or four seeds.
In the WCAC playoffs, O’Connell defeated McNamara, 1-0, in the quarterfinals. Then in the best-of-three semifinal round against Gonzaga, the Knights won the opener, 4-1, then lost the next two, 11-3 and 8-1.
In the 8-1 elimination loss, O’Connell had just two hits and was hurt by three errors. Tommy Kanakas doubled and Peyton Kijek had the other hit. Jack O’Connor added a sacrifice fly.
Michael Lavanga and Andy Fronzek had two hits each in the 11-3 loss to Gonzaga, with Bradley Armour having a hit and one RBI, Bobby McDonough doubled and Carson Mayfield had a hit. Four errors were costly for O’Connell, as the Knights allowed 12 hits.
In the Knights’ 4-1 win over Gonzaga, O’Connor threw a 94-pitch two-hitter with five strikeouts and two walks. He also had two hits and two RBI with the bat.
McDonough added two hits with a double. Fronzek, Armour and Carson Mayfield had a hit each.
Mayfield threw a six-hitter and fanned seven in the win over McNamara, and had two hits and an RBI with the bat. McDonough contributed two hits and Lavanga one.