Baseball Game Preview: Bellaire Big Reds vs. Buckeye Trail Warriors

The Bellaire Big Reds will head out on the road to square off against the Buckeye Trail Warriors at 5:00 p.m. on Monday.

Things were looking good for Bellaire after they put the first run on the board on Tuesday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They fell 8-4 to River. The Big Reds have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Riley Zonker

Runs Batted In

05/13/25 vs River	3
05/09/25 vs Bridgeport	3
05/07/25 vs Beaver Local	3
04/16/25 @ St. Clairsville	1

Riley Zonker put in work while hitting and pitching. He pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two hits in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and one double. He has become a key player for Bellaire: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least three RBI, but 5-14 otherwise.

In other batting news, Landon Preston made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Heatherington, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.

Meanwhile, Buckeye Trail came tearing into Wednesday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Saints an 8-0 shutout. Considering the Warriors have won six games by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

Bellaire's loss dropped their record down to 7-15. As for Buckeye Trail, their victory bumped their record up to 13-6.

Bellaire couldn't quite get it done against Buckeye Trail in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 as they fell 8-3. Can the Big Reds avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.