The Devon Prep Tide will challenge Friends' Central at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Neither Devon Prep nor Friends' Central posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.
Monday just wasn't the day for Devon Prep's offense. They came up short against Neumann-Goretti on Monday, falling 10-0. While getting shut out isn't ideal, the Tide haven't been shut out since back in March.
Meanwhile, Friends' Central posted their closest victory since March 24, 2025 on Tuesday. They skirted past Central 2-1. Friends' Central hasn't had any issues with Central recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Lucas Abreu made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Friends' Central is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 5-7 otherwise. Abreu was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one double.
In other pitching news, David Manfre looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He is becoming a predictor of Friends' Central's success: when he allows at most two earned runs the team is 3-1 (and 4-7 when he doesn't).
Abreu wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Blake Davis, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Devon Prep dropped their record down to 4-8 with the loss, which was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Friends' Central, their victory bumped their record up to 7-8.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Devon Prep has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Friends' Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Devon Prep beat Friends' Central 11-8 in their previous meeting back in May of 2019. Will the Tide repeat their success, or do Friends' Central have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
