Baseball Game Preview: Indian Rocks Christian Eagles vs. Northside Christian Mustangs

Indian Rocks Christian is 1-9 against Northside Christian since April of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Eagles will square off against the Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Indian Rocks Christian comes in on four and Northside Christian on ten.

Indian Rocks Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Canterbury with a sharp 14-2 win. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won ten contests by six runs or more so far this season.

Reece Barbaro

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/15/25 vs Canterbury	3
03/07/25 @ Seffner Christian	2
04/08/25 @ Grace Christian	1
02/17/25 vs Victory Christian Academy	1

Indian Rocks Christian got a massive performance out of Reece Barbaro, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those three RBI gave Barbaro a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Mortellite, who scored three runs while going 2-for-3.

Indian Rocks Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .500 or higher in three consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Northside Christian never let their opponents score on Tuesday. They blew past Bradenton Christian 13-0.

Merric Hunt tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Luke Anderson was incredible, firing off three home runs and eight RBI while going 3-for-4. He has been hot recently, having posted five or more RBI the last three times he's played. Bobby Hearn was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.

Indian Rocks Christian's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-10-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Northside Christian, their record is now 19-8.