We've got a battle between Lions coming up.
Last Thursday, Big Valley Christian came up short against Summerville and fell 7-4. The Lions haven't had much luck with the Bears recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Jackson Howell
| 03/13/25 vs Summerville | 8 |
| 02/27/25 vs Denair | 12 |
| 02/20/25 vs Ripon Christian | 2 |
| 02/11/25 @ Modesto Christian | 10 |
Jackson Howell was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.3 strikeouts per game. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. Howell is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's snagged at least one every time he's taken the field this season.
In other batting news, Alex Avila made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while going 3-for-4. Those hits marked the first that he got this season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Linden, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Tokay on Tuesday, sneaking past 3-2.
Justin Sales tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. He is becoming a predictor of Linden's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 4-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't).
At the plate, Braden Busalacchi was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Linden's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Big Valley Christian, they now have a losing record of 2-3-1.
Big Valley Christian might still be hurting after the 8-0 loss they got from Linden in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can Big Valley Christian avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
