Baseball Game Preview: Carrick Raiders vs. Toronto Red Knights

The Carrick Raiders will venture away from home to square off against the Toronto Red Knights at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Carrick 4, Toronto 0.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.

While Carrick's victory against Brashear wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Raiders had just enough and edged out the Bulls 5-4. The win continues a trend for the Raiders in their matchups with the Bulls: they've now won seven in a row.

Riley Mares

Runs

03/24/25 @ Brashear	3
04/09/25 vs Brashear	2
03/26/25 @ Perry Traditional Academy	2
03/19/25 @ Jeannette	2
03/18/25 vs Seton LaSalle	1
+ 1 more games

Riley Mares was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Carrick is undefeated when Mares posts two or more runs, but 0-3 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Blake Andrews, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-4.

Meanwhile, Toronto strolled into their game on Friday with a perfect record and they left with the same. Everything went their way against Oak Glen as they made off with a 14-2 victory. Fans of the Red Knights have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.

Toronto's record is now 5-0. As for Carrick, they now have a winning record of 4-3.

Carrick might still be hurting after the 12-1 defeat they got from Toronto when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Can the Raiders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.