Baseball Game Preview: Milton-Union Bulldogs vs. Riverside Pirates

The Milton-Union Bulldogs will square off against the Riverside Pirates at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Milton-Union has three straight victories, Riverside has five straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Milton-Union's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over Northridge. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by six runs or more this season.

The result came thanks to Austin Shoemaker's shutout, as he gave up just four hits and racked up eight Ks.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Gauge McKee, who scored three runs and stole three bases. Logan Keys was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Riverside suffered their biggest defeat since April 26, 2024 on Wednesday. They came up short against Troy Christian, falling 17-9. Pirates fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Eagles since on Wednesday.

Milton-Union's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-3. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Riverside, their loss dropped their record down to 4-8.

Milton-Union was able to grind out a solid win over Riverside in their previous matchup on Saturday, winning 5-1. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Pirates have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.