Baseball Game Preview: Oakleaf Knights vs. McMinn County Cherokees

The Oakleaf Knights will face off against the McMinn County Cherokees at 11:30 a.m. on Monday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Thursday, Oakleaf was able to grind out a solid win over Baldwin, taking the game 8-3. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Knights.

Abrien Paseiro

Hits Against

03/06/25 vs Bolles	8
02/27/25 vs Nease	6
02/11/25 vs Bishop Kenny	5
02/22/25 vs Thomas County Central	3
02/18/25 vs Clay	3
+ 2 more games

Abrien Paseiro looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Oakleaf is undefeated when Paseiro allowsone or fewer hits, but 4-7 otherwise.

On the hitting side, Jeter Farina was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of JP Espinosa, who scored two runs and stole Three bases.

Meanwhile, McMinn County came tearing into Wednesday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 5-4 W against the Fighting Irish. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Cherokees have posted since April 8, 2024.

McMinn County's win bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Oakleaf, the victory got them back to even at 7-7.

Oakleaf suffered a grim 8-0 defeat to McMinn County in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Can Oakleaf avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.