AVON, OH - The Cats squared off against their rival in St. Edward yesterday and only needed a few key hits in big spots, as two Wildcat pitchers stymied the Eagles' bats from start to finish, pitching a combined shutout in a 3-0 victory. Coming into the game, you knew something had to give, as both teams were riding high heading into the evening's action. The Eagles had won seven straight, and the Cats were coming off a 14-0 win against Brunswick a few days prior. 

Despite offensive onslaughts by both teams in their previous game, the bats started quietly through the first couple of frames. The only notable opportunity came in the bottom of the second, when Sam LoParo danced out of a two-on, two-out jam to keep the score tied at 0 heading into the third. LoParo gave the Cats everything they could've asked for and then some, as he would end up pitching four scoreless frames and dancing out of trouble a couple times. 

Offensively, the Cats had a tough test against Brandon Florjancic, as the righty had an ERA under one heading into the contest. However, chaos ensued in the third. First, Matthew McKee bunted his way on to give the Cats their first hit of the game. After stealing second, McKee would then dart for third on a throw back to the pitcher following a Ryan Whelan walk, and he not only made it to third safely, but he was also obstructed by the third baseman, Luca Reyes, as the throw sailed up the left field line, allowing him to score. 

Just like that, the Cats were on the board. Jackson Anthony then reached base on a fielder's choice, as he tapped one back to the mound, and Whelan ultimately got caught in a rundown and eventually tagged out between third and home. If not for this well-executed rundown from the Eagles, the inning could have been much worse, as in the next at-bat, Brayden Colleran singled home, Anthony on a hard hit ball through the right side, putting the Cats up 2-0 in the third. 

The Cats continued to lean on LoParo, and they weren't done adding runs yet either. In the fourth, A.J. Peluso smoked a grounder down the left field line for a double to put himself in scoring position, and he was ultimately knocked home by Max Hirsch on a line drive to right. While the Cats' offense wasn't overly productive in this game, they came up with a few timely hits against a very good Eagle pitching staff, and that was all they needed in this one with the pitching performance they got throughout. 

LoParo was done after four innings, capping his day off by escaping a huge bases-loaded jam to keep the game 3-0. The Cats' offense went quiet in the last three frames, so it was up to Ben Olack to keep a very talented Eagle offense at bay for the final nine outs. Luckily for the Cats, Olack did just that. 

In his three innings, Olack surrendered only one hit, and once he settled in after the first couple of batters, he looked nearly unhittable. The Eagles did have a chance to chip away in the fifth inning after a two-base error to begin the inning from the St. Edward nine hitter, Logan Faup. However, a stellar defensive play in center from Anthony kept the game 3-0, as he gunned down Faup at the plate on a great throw from center field following a single from Reyes. Following this play, the Eagles did not have another man get into scoring position, as they only had one baserunner for the rest of the game, and it came courtesy of a dropped third strike in the bottom of the seventh. Olack pounded the zone with 26 strikes on 33 pitches, and got Reyes to bounce into a fielder's choice to end the ballgame with a final score of 3-0, improving the Cats' record to 3-6 on the campaign. 

The Wildcats' streak on the diamond against the Eagles extends to 13 games, dating back to the 2015 season. A streak that began with a Wildcat 2-0 win in the OHSAA Regional Semifinal. St. Edward's last win against the Diamond Cats came on April 17, 2015.

The Cats are certainly riding high from back-to-back wins, including one on the road against their rival, St. Edward. They've pitched back-to-back shutouts, as LoParo and Olack combined to throw seven shutout frames yesterday, surrendering five hits, walking two, and striking out eight. In addition, the bats are starting to heat up as well after some early-season struggles against some very talented pitchers. 

The Cats return to action this afternoon against North Ridgeville and will head to Toledo this weekend for the Ohio Jesuit Tournament, which will start on Saturday against St. John's Jesuit.