BATON ROUGE - The road to back-to-back state titles is now one game closer after No. 1 Catholic High took down No. 8 John Curtis Christian 4-0 in game one of their best-of-three quarterfinal series.

The Bears were led at the plate by a bases clearing double by Noah Lewis. Three runs scored after Lewis' shot to left field to make it 4-0.

Catholic High pitcher Lucas Lawrence made sure the Patriots didn't stand a chance at catching up. He threw the entire and struck out eight batters en route to the victory.

Catholic and John Curtis Christian will play game two on Friday at 5 p.m. at Grizzly Field. If the Bears wins that game, they will advance to the state semifinals next week.