The Blue Ridge Jays are taking a road trip to face off against Faith Baptist at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Blue Ridge will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.
Blue Ridge's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Southwest Virginia Academy as they made off with a 14-0 win. Considering the Jays have won six contests by more than nine runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Lochlan 'Bear' Paul made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two triples, three runs, and three RBI. He has become a key player for Blue Ridge: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-5 otherwise.
Paul Berry
| 04/21/25 @ Southwest Virginia Academy | 6 |
| 04/08/24 vs Regents | 5 |
| 04/08/25 vs Regents | 4 |
| 03/08/25 @ Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association | 3 |
| 03/06/25 vs Blue Ridge | 3 |
In other pitching news, Paul Berry looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Dominic Paul, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with five stolen bases, four runs, and three RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Blue Ridge's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-5 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Josh Craig, who went 3-for-4 with five stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Blue Ridge kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in four consecutive games.
Faith Baptist came out on top against Grove Christian School last Monday thanks in part to the team's impressive five-run fifth inning. Faith Baptist walked away with an 8-3 victory over Grove Christian School.
Blue Ridge's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-5. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Faith Baptist, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.
Blue Ridge took their victory against Faith Baptist in their previous matchup on April 5th by a conclusive 19-1 score. Will the Jays repeat their success, or do Faith Baptist have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
