O’Connell is No. 2 seed, Paul VI is No. 4 in WCAC Tournament

May 5 - Bishop O’Connell will be the No. 2 seed as it seeks to end a 15-year championship drought in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) Tournament, while Paul VI Catholic enters Saturday’s quarterfinals as the No. 4 seed.

The Knights (16-7 overall, 12-4 WCAC) dropped their final regular season game last night to Gonzaga, 2-1, but had already secured their seed and will host No. 7 seed Gonzaga (12-12, 6-10) again on Saturday.

O’Connell last won a conference championship in 2001, and also won WCAC titles in 1982 and 1989. DeMatha Catholic has won a record 24 league titles, and St. John’s, last year’s champion, has won nine.

The Knights swept their regular season series with St. Mary’s Ryken, winning 3-0 on the road on April 5 and 5-2 at home on April 26.

The Panthers (20-5, 11-5), ranked No. 6 this week in our Northern Virginia Top 10 Poll, will host No. 5 seed DeMatha (11-12, 8-8) after wrapping their regular season with a 5-1 win over Bishop McNamara on Tuesday. Paul VI, which last won the WCAC in 2012, is seeking its fourth league title in the past 10 years and fifth overall.

The Panthers swept their series with the Stags, winning 2-1 at home on April 14 and 8-5 on the road on April 19.

“Closing out a regular season with a win over McNamara was important as it secured a 20-win regular season and sets the right tenor heading into the playoffs,” Paul VI coach Jeff Nolan said. “I like the way we went about our business against McNamara particularly after resuming the game after the rains came.“

Top seed St. John’s (18-7, 14-2) will host No. 8 seed Bishop McNamara (5-16, 4-12), and No. 3 seed Good Counsel (14-9, 11-5) will host No. 6 seed St. Mary’s Ryken (10-12, 6-10) in the other quarterfinal games. Bishop Ireton (4-20, 0-16) did not qualify for the tournament.

After this weekend’s quarterfinals, the tournament will shift to a best-of-three format for the semifinals beginning on Monday, with Game 1 held at the higher seed that day, Game 2 at the lower seed on Tuesday, and Game 3 held if necessary at the higher seed on Wednesday.

“I know our whole team is excited to get this postseason started because we believe we can win it all,” said Paul VI senior Jack Cunningham. “I think if we can get our bats going, we will be a tough team to deal with.”

Added Nolan: “The kids are very excited about the playoffs. I think they are looking at it is a brand-new season and there is heightened focus and attention to detail within our clubhouse.”

The league’s championship series, held at the University of Maryland the past couple of seasons, will be held this year at the Nationals Youth Academy in Washington, D.C.

Photos of Rafi Vazquez and Jack Cunningham courtesy of Bishop O'Connell baseball and Paul VI Catholic baseball.