Baseball Game Preview: Bayside Marlins vs. Indian River Braves

The Bayside Marlins will venture away from home to face off against the Indian River Braves at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Last Monday, Bayside didn't have quite enough to beat Norview and fell 6-5.

Bayside saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Barry Farias Jr, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. William ?Austin? Blakesley also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Indian River). They put the hurt on Green Run with a sharp 20-3 win on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Braves considering their one-run performance the match before.

Evan Sheppard looked comfortable as he tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Kalvin Murphy, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Logan Riley, who scored three runs while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.

Indian River always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .619. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Bayside has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-6 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Indian River, their victory ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 4-6.

Bayside skirted past Indian River 1-0 when the teams last played back in March. Will the Marlins repeat their success, or do the Braves have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.