Baseball Game Preview: Royal Highlanders vs. Channel Islands Raiders

The Royal Highlanders will face off against the Channel Islands Raiders at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Royal will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.

Royal proved they can win big on Wednesday (they won by 13) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past San Marcos 7-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Highlanders have posted since March 27, 2024.

Royal got a great performance from Dustin Dunnwoody as he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up four earned runs off four hits.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Zachary Nagy, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Noah Vasquez, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Royal hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts every time they've taken the field this season.

Meanwhile, Channel Islands came up short against Santa Ynez on Saturday and fell 5-1.

Royal pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Channel Islands, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 2-4 record this season.

Royal took their win against Channel Islands in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 11-1. Does Royal have another victory up their sleeve, or will Channel Islands turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.