Baseball Game Preview: East Ridge Knights vs. South Lake Eagles

The East Ridge Knights will head out on the road to square off against the South Lake Eagles at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday. South Lake took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on East Ridge, who comes in off a win.

On Wednesday, East Ridge was able to grind out a solid victory over Cornerstone Charter Academy, taking the game 7-4.

Stephen Pineda

Batters Struck Out

03/05/25 vs Cornerstone Charter Academy	5
02/26/25 @ The Villages Charter	1
02/19/25 @ Legacy Charter	1
02/10/25 vs Umatilla	1
04/24/24 @ Apopka	2
+ 7 more games

Stephen Pineda made a big impact no matter where he played. He pitched six innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing Two bases. while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances. East Ridge is undefeated when Pineda posts two or more runs, but 2-4 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Haisum Osuna, who scored a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Jonmykal Boom, who scored two runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, South Lake has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.8 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Tuesday. They took an 11-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of Lake Minneola. The Eagles haven't had much luck with the Hawks recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.

South Lake saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was J Brown, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI.

South Lake's loss dropped their record down to 6-4. As for East Ridge, they now have a winning record of 5-4.

East Ridge suffered a grim 12-0 defeat to South Lake when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can East Ridge avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.