The Rice Memorial Green Knights will challenge the Saranac Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Rice Memorial barely beat Burr & Burton the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Green Knights were the clear victors by a 17-1 margin over the Bulldogs on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Green Knights in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won five in a row.
Landon Merchant was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Merchant was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Rice Memorial let Coleton Merchant and Oliver Quong run wild. Merchant scored four runs while going 2-for-3, while Quong scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Holden Mulvey, who scored a run while going 1-for-1.
Meanwhile, Saranac put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Ticonderoga 12-4. 12 seems to be a good number for the Spartans as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Like Rice Memorial, Saranac also got a great game from a two-way player: Adrian Barnes. On the mound, he tossed seven innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits. Barnes was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. What's more, he posted three hits, the most he's had since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Robbie Squier was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Brody Macomber, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4.
Saranac was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive games.
Rice Memorial couldn't quite finish off Saranac in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 9-7. Can the Green Knights avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
