Baseball Game Preview: Eastern Mennonite Flames vs. Virginia Episcopal School Bishops

The Eastern Mennonite Flames will face off against the Virginia Episcopal School Bishops at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Eastern Mennonite has given up an average of 8.5 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Eastern Mennonite is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 12 runs on Tuesday, they were much more limited against Blue Ridge on Friday. They came up short against the Barons, falling 15-2. The defeat continues a trend for the Flames in their meetings with the Barons: they've now lost eight in a row.

Jake Stevenson

Runs

03/11/25 vs Roanoke Catholic	3
04/04/25 vs Blue Ridge	2
04/01/25 vs Shenandoah Valley Academy	2

Eastern Mennonite saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jake Stevenson, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. Stevenson has become a key player for the Flames: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 0-3 otherwise.

Meanwhile, Virginia Episcopal School posted their closest victory since May 3, 2024 on Saturday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Christchurch School, sneaking past 3-2.

Campbell Howard made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Eastern Mennonite's loss dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Virginia Episcopal School, they now have a winning record of 5-4.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Eastern Mennonite has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Virginia Episcopal School struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Eastern Mennonite suffered a grim 22-0 defeat to Virginia Episcopal School in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will the Flames have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.