Baseball Game Preview: North County Raiders vs. DeSoto Dragons

The North County Raiders will take on the DeSoto Dragons at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Tuesday, North County earned a 7-4 victory over Central.

Tim Ekstam Jr made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. North County is 2-1 when Ekstam Jr allows three or fewer hits, but 2-3 otherwise. Ekstam Jr was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Maddox Basler

Runs

04/01/25 @ Central	2
03/27/25 vs West County	2
03/21/25 vs Jefferson	2

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Maddox Basler, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. He has become a key player for North County: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 1-4 otherwise. Jaxon Scherffius was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask DeSoto). They blew past St. Clair 11-1 on Tuesday. The win was some much needed relief for the Dragons as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

DeSoto's record now sits at 2-3. As for North County, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.

North County took their win against DeSoto in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 12-2 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Raiders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.