Baseball Recap: Make It Nine in a Row for Academy for Academic Excellence

Knights

Margin (Wins)

05/02/25 @ Silver Valley	13
04/11/25 vs Lucerne Valley	13
04/08/25 @ Lucerne Valley	12
04/22/25 @ Victor Valley Christian	11
05/15/25 vs Bethel Christian	10

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Academy for Academic Excellence had no problem doing just that on Thursday. Everything went their way against the Bethel Christian Kings as they made off with a 14-4 victory. The Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten games by seven runs or more this season.

Nathan Rudd was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. He has become a key player for Academy for Academic Excellence: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 8-9 otherwise.

In other batting news, Keegan Layton was excellent, going 1-for-2 with three runs and one stolen base. Garrett Narasky was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

Academy for Academic Excellence kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post 11 or more hits.

The win (which was Academy for Academic Excellence's ninth in a row) raised their record to 13-9. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.7 runs over those games. As for Bethel Christian, their loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 9-11.

Coming up, Academy for Academic Excellence will take on Santiago at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Bethel Christian does not have any more games scheduled as of now.