The Blue Ridge Jays will take on the Regents Lions at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
19 must be Blue Ridge's lucky number: they beat Faith Baptist with that score not once but twice on Saturday. The Jays put the hurt on Faith Baptist with a sharp 19-1 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Jays.
Taylor Rhodes made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Rhodes was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring four runs while going 2-for-3. Those hits marked the first that he got this season.
In other batting news, Caleb Shank was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Paul Berry, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Blue Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .625. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, Regents had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They blew past the Tornadoes 17-3. While the Lions didn't have the best season last year (they finished 3-6), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Like Blue Ridge, Regents also got a great game from a two-way player: Grady Sawyer. He tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave Sawyer a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4.
In other batting news, Regents got a massive performance out of Luke Trivette, who scored three runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3. Those three stolen bases gave Trivette a new career-high. Levi Trivette was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Regents' victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-2. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Blue Ridge, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Monday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Blue Ridge hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .335. However, it's not like Regents struggles in that department as they've averaged .356. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Blue Ridge took their win against Regents when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 12-4 score. Do the Jays have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Lions turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
