Baseball Game Preview: East Ridge Knights vs. Tavares Bulldogs

The East Ridge Knights will head out to take on the Tavares Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. East Ridge will be strutting in after a win while Tavares will be coming in after a defeat.

East Ridge will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Monday, then bounced right back against Ocoee on Thursday. Everything went East Ridge's way against Ocoee as East Ridge made off with a 12-2 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win East Ridge has posted against Ocoee since March 30, 2018.

Cale Keene spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on two hits and racked up eight Ks.

On the hitting side, East Ridge let Haisum Osuna and Matthew Dewoody loose on the outfield. Osuna scored two runs while going 2-for-4, while Dewoody scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3. What's more, Dewoody also posted two hits, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Stephen Pineda, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.

East Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ocoee only posted an OBP of .333.

Meanwhile, Tavares was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their seventh straight loss dating back to last season. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost a 13-11 heartbreaker at the hands of South Lake.

Tavares' defeat dropped their record down to 0-2. As for East Ridge, the victory got them back to even at 1-1.

East Ridge came up short against Tavares in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, falling 3-0. Can East Ridge avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.