The Aragon Dons will face off against the Hillsdale Fighting Knights at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Aragon 3.1, Hillsdale 3.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Aragon took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They came out on top against Mills by a score of 8-4.
Charlie Henderson was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 4-for-4. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Keith Matye, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Aragon was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .438. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Hillsdale beat Burlingame 6-3 on Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Fighting Knights.
Robert Gilbert spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on eight hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, Hillsdale let Jake Belloni and Parker Jessup run wild. Belloni scored two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Jessup scored a run while going 1-for-1. Hillsdale is undefeated when Belloni posts two or more runs, but 2-4 otherwise.
Aragon's win bumped their record up to 5-8. As for Hillsdale, their victory bumped their record up to 7-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Aragon has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Hillsdale struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Aragon couldn't quite finish off Hillsdale in their previous meeting back in March of 2023 and fell 2-0. Can the Dons avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
