Baseball Recap: Academy for Academic Excellence Snags 13th Win in Last 14 Games

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Academy for Academic Excellence had no problem doing just that on Friday. They had just enough and edged out the Twentynine Palms Wildcats 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Knights have posted since April 1st.

Bryson Lilly made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two hits in six consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI.

Keegan Layton

Hits (Career)

05/23/25 vs Twentynine Palms	3
04/18/25 vs Academy of Careers & Exploration	2
04/08/25 @ Lucerne Valley	2
04/23/24 @ Lucerne Valley	2
05/20/25 vs Santiago	1

In other batting news, Nathan Rudd and Keegan Layton did most of the damage at the plate: Rudd went 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI, while Layton went a perfect 3-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Those three hits gave Layton a new career-high. Aiden Carmona was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one run and one double.

Academy for Academic Excellence kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in five consecutive matchups.

Academy for Academic Excellence has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 13 of their last 14 games. That's provided a massive bump to their 15-9 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Twentynine Palms, the defeat snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 11-9 record.

As of now, neither Academy for Academic Excellence nor the Wildcats have any future games scheduled.