The West Orange Warriors will square off against the East Ridge Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. West Orange's pitching crew has only allowed 2.7 runs per game this season, so East Ridge's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
On Thursday, West Orange didn't have quite enough to beat Freedom and fell 6-5. The Warriors have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
West Orange had to settle for second despite strong performances on the mound from Nicolas Caso and Lukas Stirewalt Caso tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits, while Stirewalt tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Stirewalt has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two hits any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Angel Martinez and Charlie Eidelman stepped up to the plate in a big way. Martinez scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Eidelman scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for East Ridge, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They walked away with a 12-9 victory over Lake Mary Prep on Thursday. The win was some much needed relief for the Knights as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Cale Keene made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over four innings pitched. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because East Ridge is 3-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 5-14 otherwise. Keene was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and one double. Those two hits gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, East Ridge let Haisum Osuna and Matthew Dewoody run wild. Osuna scored a run while going 2-for-4, while Dewoody scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. East Ridge is undefeated when Dewoody posts two or more runs, but 5-15 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucas Rincon, who scored four runs while going 1-for-3.
East Ridge's victory bumped their record up to 8-15. As for West Orange, their loss dropped their record down to 18-6.
West Orange beat East Ridge 4-0 when the teams last played back in April of 2022. Will the Warriors repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
