There are more than 200 public and private high schools in the Washington D.C. metro area. Only James Madison in Vienna and Bishop O’Connell in Arlington have both their softball and their baseball teams ranked in the Washington Post "Top 10" poll.

The O'Connell softball team is ranked ninth. The Knights baseball team is ranked 10th. The Lady Knights, coached by veteran Tommy Orndorff, weigh in with an overall record of 12-2, including an undefeated mark of 6-0 in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. Until this past weekend, O'Connell sported a 12-0 record, but they dropped two games at the Calvert (Maryland) Spring Break Tournament.

The Lady Knights defeated the Ireton Lady Cardinals 4-3 on April 17 in a battle for first place in the WCAC Both teams entered the contest undefeated.

O'Connell scored two unearned runs off of Cardinal senior star pitcher Jess Luckett in the top of the first. Several innings later, the Knights bolted to a 4-0 lead when senior third baseman Nicole "Chucky" Simon hit a single and scored moments later when junior standout pitcher Cara L'Etoile belted a home run over the right fielders head. Ireton scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't enough to defeat their archrivals.

The Knights have now won 54 consecutive WCAC regular season games, the longest streak in conference history.

"We've got a good team. Offensively, we're hitting pretty well. Defensively, we need to improve," said Coach Orndorff.

On April 15, the Lady Knights defeated C.D. Hylton 2-0 for the championship of the Lake Braddock Invitational (15 total teams in the tournament).

"Outside of the WCAC, every game we play is tough," said Orndorff (2001 WCAC Champions. Last season, O'Connell was shocked by Good Counsel in the WCAC tournament semi-finals).

The O'Connell baseball team, coached by veteran Gary Rucker, alsoweighs-in with an identical 12-2 record. The Knights have defeated Paul VI twice, and Ireton once. In addition, the "Royal Blue and Silver" has also defeated St. Albans in D.C. and Good Counsel in recent outings.

In the Knights’ 5-0 win versus the Good Counsel Falcons, April 17, senior pitcher J.J. Pannell threw a no-hitter. Pannell missed a perfect game because he walked two. Nonetheless, it was one of the finest games an O'Connell pitcher has ever recorded. Pannell fanned 12 Falcons. The senior now sports a very impressive 5-0 personal record, with an ERA of .89, and 58 strikeouts in 31 innings.

O'Connell senior first baseman John Yohe leads the Knights in batting this season with a .459 average.
The Knights are in Florida this week playing four games during Easter break.

"We're off to a very solid start," said Coach Rucker (won the 2001 WCAC Title).

The Ireton Cardinal baseball team is having a very solid year thus far. The "Cardinal and Gold," coached by Mark Heiser (fourth season), weighs in with an overall record of 9-4, including WCAC wins versus Carroll and Paul VI. Junior Jamie Cowan (3-1 record), senior Dan Stankus (3-2) and freshman Tim Sprague (2-0) lead the Cardinal pitching staff. Senior catcher Mike Cassidy lead the Ireton hit parade with a batting average of .448. Senior pitcher/third baseman Dan Stankus (.389), freshman pitcher/outfielder Tim Sprague (.378), senior first baseman Ryan Hogan (.343), senior outfielder Tim Tassa (.315), senior outfielder Curt Hanlon (.299) and junior outfielder Dan O'Donnell (.295) - have also been hitting well for the Cardinals. Ireton is in Myrtle Beach, S.C. to play a number of games during Easter break. On April 21, the Cardinals defeated Wallace Rose Hill 13-6. The "Cardinal and Gold" has now scored 93 runs on the season and has only allowed 47 runs.

The Ireton boys’ tennis team appears to be the diocesan team to beat in 2003. The Cardinals, coached by veteran Mike Hutton, weighs in with an overall record of 9-2-1 thus far this season. At the midway point of the WCAC season, Ireton ranks third in the WCAC with a league mark of 5-2 - including one win versus O'Connell and one win versus Paul VI. Gonzaga (7-0) and DeMatha (6-1) are the two teams that Ireton is trying to catch heading into the second half of the season. Currently, O'Connell, coached by Bob Kluba, and Paul VI, coached by Craig Tutt, are in the middle tier of the WCAC standings.

Leading the "Cardinal and Gold" this season are juniors: Michael Bruce, Matt Stevenson, Adam Martin, Chris Gallagher and Tyler Phillips, as well as sophomores H.B. Choe and Brian Samson.
Bruce and Stevenson are the captains.