Baseball Game Preview: Oak Ridge Blue Jays vs. Richland Bears

The Oak Ridge Blue Jays will head out on the road to challenge the Richland Bears at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Tuesday just wasn't the day for Oak Ridge's offense. They came up short against Meadow Heights on Tuesday, falling 6-0. The defeat continues a trend for the Blue Jays in their meetings with the Panthers: they've now lost five in a row.

Cohen Hahs was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off four hits.

Noah Engler

Hits

03/25/25 @ Meadow Heights	2
05/10/24 @ Crossroads	0
05/02/24 vs East Prairie	1
04/23/24 @ Charleston	1
04/17/24 vs Saxony Lutheran	3

On the hitting side, Oak Ridge saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Noah Engler, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base. That's the most hits Engler has posted since back in April of 2024.

Meanwhile, Richland fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Cuba on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 8-7. That's two games in a row now that the Bears have lost by just one run.

Mason Alexander was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. Alexander was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.

In other batting news, London Smith was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing five bases while going 1-for-4. Bryce Pemberton also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Richland is on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-3. As for Oak Ridge, their record is now 0-2.