Baseball Game Preview: Jefferson Dragons vs. East Bay Indians

The Jefferson Dragons will take on the East Bay Indians in a tournament on Saturday. Jefferson is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.5 runs per game this season.

Jefferson will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Tuesday, then bounced right back against Freedom on Thursday. Jefferson blew past Freedom 19-6. The Dragons haven't had any issues with the Patriots recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Ja'Marques Benton

Hits (Career)

03/13/25 vs Freedom	3
02/11/25 @ Bloomingdale	2
05/08/24 vs Mulberry	2
03/19/24 vs King	2
03/13/24 vs Tampa Catholic	2

The team relied heavily on Ja'Marques Benton, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in hits. Another player making a difference was Kaleb Cherry, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.

Jefferson always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Meanwhile, East Bay came tearing into Thursday's contest with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.6 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Cowboys.

Mike Mowell spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on five hits.

On the hitting side, Ethan Cunningham was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. That double was his first of the season.

East Bay's victory bumped their record up to 7-5. As for Jefferson, their win bumped their record up to 7-4.

Everything went Jefferson's way against East Bay in their previous meeting back in March of 2023, as Jefferson made off with a 10-1 victory. Does Jefferson have another victory up their sleeve, or will East Bay turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.