Baseball Preview: Tri-City Christian Eagles vs. Pacific Ridge Firebirds
After 12 games on the road, Tri-City Christian is heading back home. They will take on the Pacific Ridge Firebirds at 2:45 p.m. on Monday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
On Thursday, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Tri-City Christian had to settle for an 8-7 defeat against Canyon Hills.
Jace Croke and Sam Denning did some serious damage despite the final result: Croke scored a run while going 1-for-3, while Denning scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Meanwhile, the matchup between Pacific Ridge and Coastal Academy last Thursday hardly resembled the 2-1 effort from their previous meeting. Pacific Ridge fell just short of Coastal Academy by a score of 11-9. Pacific Ridge has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Wyatt Ogle was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over 5.1 innings while giving up three earned (and four unearned) runs off eight hits. Ogle was even better at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played.
In other batting news, Quade Kelley made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored four runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Lee Footer, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Even though they lost, Pacific Ridge didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 13 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Tri-City Christian's loss dropped their record down to 2-10. As for Pacific Ridge, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-12.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Tri-City Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pacific Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Tri-City Christian took their win against Pacific Ridge when the teams last played back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 11-2. Will Tri-City Christian repeat their success, or does Pacific Ridge have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
