Ballard and O'Dea are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Beavers will be playing at home against the Fighting Irish at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Ballard took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Cleveland a 6-0 shutout. The Beavers haven't had any issues with the Eagles recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Wes Manger
| 04/08/26 vs Cleveland | 7 |
| 03/19/26 vs Redmond | 3 |
| 04/28/25 vs Seattle Academy | 3 |
| 03/25/26 vs Nathan Hale | 2 |
| 03/28/25 @ Garfield | 2 |
Wes Manger made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over four innings pitched. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Jake VanDenBerg was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. He has become a key player for Ballard: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 2-5 otherwise. Miles Soja was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Ballard always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask O'Dea). Everything went their way against Bishop Blanchet on Wednesday as they made off with a 10-1 win. The high-scoring effort was just what the Fighting Irish needed considering they were shut out in their previous matchup.
Ballard's victory bumped their record up to 4-6. As for O'Dea, their win bumped their record up to an identical 4-6.
Ballard skirted past O'Dea 4-2 when the teams last played back in May of 2025. Do the Beavers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Fighting Irish turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
