The East River Falcons will head out on the road to take on the Orangewood Christian Rams at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
East River took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They walked away with a 7-3 victory over Cypress Creek. The Falcons haven't had any issues with the Bears recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Jayden Vazquez was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Elijah Sealey, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
East River was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .444. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Orangewood Christian ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-4 victory over Trinity Prep. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Rams.
Orangewood Christian also got a great performance from Rhys Oldham as he struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and not a single walk). Oldham has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Austin Wendorf, who scored a run and stole three bases while going 4-for-5. He also put up a double, which was his first of the season. Max Sakala was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Orangewood Christian pushed their record up to 12-7 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for East River, their record is now 11-8.
East River came out on top in a nail-biter against Orangewood Christian in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 10-9. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Falcons since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
