Baseball Game Preview: Acalanes Dons vs. Campolindo Cougars

By Team Reports May 21, 2025, 11:10pm

Baseball Preview: Acalanes Dons vs. Campolindo Cougars

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Acalanes is 2-8 against Campolindo since May of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Dons will square off against the Cougars at 1:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Acalanes 2.8, Campolindo 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Acalanes is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Ukiah a 3-0 shutout. The victory was some much needed relief for the Dons as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

Branson Smith

Earned Runs

05/01/25 @ Campolindo4
04/08/25 @ Benicia4
03/04/25 @ St. Ignatius College Preparatory4
05/16/25 vs San Ramon Valley2
04/01/25 vs Casa Grande1
+ 1 more games

Branson Smith tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out seven over six innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Acalanes is 7-2 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 7-8-1 otherwise.

On the hitting side, Ando Butner was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Ben Pecci, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run.

Acalanes hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in five consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Campolindo earned an 8-3 win over Encinal on Wednesday.

Campolindo also got a great performance from Colin Rutzen as he didn't allow a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched. Rutzen has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jack Luster, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, one run, and one RBI. Blake Robison was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs.

Campolindo's victory bumped their record up to 15-10. As for Acalanes, their win bumped their record up to 14-10-1.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps