Baseball Game Preview: Portland Christian Royals vs. Riverside Pirates

The Portland Christian Royals will challenge the Riverside Pirates at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Portland Christian will be strutting in after a victory while Riverside will be coming in after a defeat.

Riverside will challenge a team with plenty of momentum: Portland Christian extended their winning streak to three on Wednesday. Everything went the Royals' way against Salem Academy as they made off with a 14-4 win.

Jack Mazurowski was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched 2.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. Mazurowski was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.

In other batting news, Portland Christian let Michael Thurber and Joseph Diesel run wild. Thurber scored two runs while going 4-for-4, while Diesel scored four runs while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance also gave Thurber a new career-high in RBI (three). Another player making a difference was Donovan Endres, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.

Portland Christian kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 19 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits every time they've taken the field this season.

Meanwhile, Riverside came up short against McLoughlin on Tuesday, falling 14-2. The Pirates have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Riverside saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Roberto Lopez, who scored a run while going 2-for-2. Hector Magallanes also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Portland Christian's victory bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Riverside, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.

Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Portland Christian has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 12.3 hits per game. However, it's not like Riverside struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.7 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.