Baseball Game Preview: Acalanes Dons vs. Piedmont Highlanders

The Acalanes Dons will face off against the Piedmont Highlanders at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

While Dons fans will have to keep waiting for their squad to come home, they shouldn't be too worried about the road trip considering the result of Tuesday's season opener. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over Pinole Valley on Tuesday.

Branson Smith spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on two hits.

At the plate, Acalanes saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Keegan Goddard, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, Piedmont got the win against Salesian College Preparatory on Wednesday by a conclusive 9-1. The victory continues a trend for the Highlanders in their matchups with the Pride: they've now won six in a row.

George Bishop looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three).

On the hitting side, Markos Lagios was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Jordan Vo, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Everything went Acalanes' way against Piedmont when the teams last played back in March of 2024, as Acalanes made off with a 10-3 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Acalanes since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.