The Oakleaf Knights will venture away from home to take on the Trinity Christian Academy Conquerors at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Last Tuesday, Oakleaf didn't have quite enough to beat Newberry and fell 8-7.
Abrien Paseiro
| 04/01/25 @ Newberry | 1 |
| 03/26/25 vs St. Johns Country Day | 2 |
| 03/19/25 vs Knoxville Catholic | 2 |
| 03/17/25 vs McMinn County | 1 |
| 03/13/25 vs Baldwin | 1 |
| + 3 more games |
Oakleaf got a good showing from Abrien Paseiro, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Paseiro has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.
At the plate, JP Espinosa made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jeter Farina, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, Trinity Christian Academy is ranked highly in their home state and on Tuesday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Lowndes. The Conquerors walked away with a 7-4 win over the Vikings. The victory was familiar territory for the Conquerors, who have now won five contests in a row.
Gage Petrutz was excellent, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Wheeler, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Trinity Christian Academy's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for Oakleaf, they now have a losing record of 10-11.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Oakleaf has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Trinity Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Oakleaf came out on top in a nail-biter against Trinity Christian Academy when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 3-1. Do the Knights have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Conquerors turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
