Baseball Game Preview: Braden River Pirates vs. IMG Academy Gray Ascenders

The Braden River Pirates will venture away from home to square off against the IMG Academy Gray Ascenders at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Braden River is coming into the contest hot, having won their last four games.

Braden River lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Out-of-Door Academy, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Tuesday's match. Everything went Braden River's way against Out-of-Door Academy on Tuesday as Braden River made off with a 10-1 victory. The game marked the Pirates' most dominant win of the season.

Denzel Diaz tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over six innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in walks (one).

On the hitting side, Nick Curbelo was excellent, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024. Tristan Tallo also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.

Meanwhile, IMG Academy Gray owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Wednesday. They won by a run and slipped past Hollins 1-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Ascenders.

Not much got past Mason Montjoy, who gave up just two hits and racked up eight Ks to keep Hollins off the board. Montjoy has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Kenyatta Parker, who scored a run and stole Three bases. while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

IMG Academy Gray's record now sits at 10-6. As for Braden River, they now have a winning record of 7-6.

Braden River skirted past IMG Academy Gray 2-1 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Braden River since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.