Baseball Game Preview: Houston Academy Raiders vs. Slocomb Red Tops

The Houston Academy Raiders will head out on the road to take on the Slocomb Red Tops at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Houston Academy is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.

Houston Academy is headed into Thursday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Tuesday. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 6-5 heartbreaker at the hands of Providence Christian.

Harrison Milanowski

Runs

02/21/25 @ New Brockton	3
02/25/25 @ Providence Christian	2
02/13/25 vs Sneads	2
02/24/25 @ Opp	1
02/20/25 vs Providence Christian	1
+ 1 more games

Harrison Milanowski was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one double. He is becoming a predictor of Houston Academy's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 2-1 (and 1-4 when he doesn't). Whit Price was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Slocomb). Everything went their way against Dale County on Tuesday as Slocomb made off with a 9-2 victory. The win continues a trend for the Red Tops in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now won three in a row.

Cade Birge was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance gave him a new career-low in hits. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

In other batting news, Brody Keel was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Cade Hodges, who scored two runs and stole two bases.

The victory got Slocomb back to even at 2-2. As for Houston Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 3-5.

Houston Academy took their win against Slocomb when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 8-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Houston Academy since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.