After winning their first two games of the competition, the top-seed Bishop O’Connell Knights (20-10) lost two straight during the semifinal round and were eliminated from the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference baseball tournament.
Next for the high-school team was the Division I private-school state tourney, in which O’Connell was the No. 3 seed. The Knights lost to the Miller School, 6-3, in nine innings.
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.
McDonough had two hits and Peyon Kijek one, with two RBI, in the loss to Miller School.