Baseball Game Preview: Branford Buccaneers vs. Eastside Rams

The Branford Buccaneers will challenge the Eastside Rams at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

Branford fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Fort White on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Indians by a score of 6-4.

Patrick Williams put in work while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over six innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Williams was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with two RBI and one double. That double was his first of the season.

In other batting news, Troy Roberts was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing three bases while going 1-for-3. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March of 2024. Jackson Skinner was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base.

Meanwhile, Eastside fell victim to West Port and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They lost 16-0 to the Wolf Pack. The defeat leaves the Rams still looking for their first win on the season.

Eastside saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Rodney McClellon Jr., who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base.

Eastside's loss dropped their record down to 0-3-2. As for Branford, they now have a losing record of 2-3.

Eastside's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Branford has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Eastside, though, as they've been averaging only 2.6 strikeouts. Will Branford keep running through batters, or will Eastside buck the trend? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.