The James F. Byrnes Rebels will square off against the Southside Christian Sabres at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
While James F. Byrnes' win against Woodruff wasn't quite the blowout they won the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. James F. Byrnes came out on top in a nail-biter against Woodruff on Saturday, sneaking past 5-3.
James F. Byrnes got a great performance from Jack Bailey as he tossed five innings while giving up three earned runs off three hits.
Blake Collins
| 03/01/25 vs Woodruff | 1 |
| 03/01/25 vs St. Joseph's Catholic | 1 |
| 02/28/25 vs Riverside | 1 |
At the plate, Blake Collins and Hayden Lister did most of the damage at the plate: Collins went 1-for-2 with one home run and one stolen base, while Lister went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and two RBI. Collins is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's stole at least one every time he's taken the field this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jake Moss, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Southside Christian put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They had just enough and edged out Clover 9-7.
Southside Christian's victory was truly a team effort as eight different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Mikey Hotinski, who scored a run while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance also gave Hotinski a new career-high in hits (three).
Southside Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .606. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Clover only posted an OBP of .323.
Southside Christian pushed their record up to 3-0 with the win, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for James F. Byrnes, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. James F. Byrnes has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Southside Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
James F. Byrnes skirted past Southside Christian 3-2 when the teams last played back in February of 2022. The rematch might be a little tougher for James F. Byrnes since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
