Baseball Recap: Heritage Comes Up Short

After flying high against Varsity Opponent last Wednesday, Heritage came back down to earth. Heritage fell just short of the Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers by a score of 9-8 on Monday. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Hustlers this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 8-2 back in February.

Marshall Braden was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched six innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.

Rian Paull

Hits (Career)

03/24/25 @ Melbourne Central Catholic	3
03/03/25 vs Gateway	2
03/18/25 vs Varsity Opponent	1
03/11/25 @ Space Coast	1
03/04/25 @ Palm Bay	1

At the plate, Rian Paull led a balanced group of hitters, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Zander Vargo, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Even though they lost, Heritage 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 nine hits in four consecutive matches.

The defeat snapped Heritage's winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 11-7 record. As for Melbourne Central Catholic, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 8-6.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Heritage will host Melbourne at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Melbourne Central Catholic, they will be playing at home against Merritt Island at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.