The Bear River Bruins will face off against the El Dorado Cougars at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Bear River is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.7 runs per game this season.
El Dorado will be up against a hot Bear River squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Bruins blew past East Nicolaus 8-1 on Wednesday. The Bruins might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by six runs or more this season.
Seamus McKeown spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on five hits and racked up ten Ks.
Brayden Estrada
| 03/04/26 vs East Nicolaus | 4 |
| 02/27/26 vs Foresthill | 1 |
| 02/13/26 @ Rosemont | 1 |
| 02/12/26 @ El Dorado | 1 |
| 05/06/25 vs Leroy Greene Academy | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Brayden Estrada, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI and one stolen base. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Cooper Lunsford, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Bear River was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as East Nicolaus only posted a batting average of .160.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, El Dorado's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They fell 8-3 to Roseville.
Jackson Miller made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases and one run. He has become a key player for El Dorado: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 2-4 otherwise.
Bear River's victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for El Dorado, they now have a losing record of 4-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bear River has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like El Dorado struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Bear River got the 'W' in their previous meeting back in February against El Dorado by a conclusive 8-2 score. Will the Bruins repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
