Baseball Game Preview: Taft Raiders vs. O'Connor Panthers

Taft is 2-8 against O'Connor since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Raiders will challenge the Panthers at 7:30 p.m.

On Thursday, Taft came up short against Brennan and fell 13-8.

CHRIS ARRIAGA made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one double. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season. ELIJAH BARRERA was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.

Meanwhile, O'Connor came tearing into Thursday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Falcons with a sharp 10-1 win. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten games by six runs or more this season.

Ryan Mason made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out ten over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because O'Connor is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 8-9 otherwise. Mason was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Cali-Evan Billela was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and three runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Contreras, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs.

Taft's loss dropped their record down to 7-15. As for O'Connor, their record is now 14-9.

Taft suffered a grim 7-1 defeat to O'Connor when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Raiders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.