The Royal Highlanders will square off against the Highland Bulldogs at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Royal will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.
Royal is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Channel Islands get on the board and left with a 24-0 victory on Tuesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Dean Barkman
| 03/04/25 vs Channel Islands | 14 |
| 02/22/25 vs Canyon | 10 |
| 03/16/24 @ Temple City | 7 |
| 02/24/24 vs Saugus | 5 |
| 03/28/24 @ Ontario Christian | 4 |
Dean Barkman was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts. He was also big at the plate, scoring three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Brady Hewitt, who went 2-for-5 with one home run, five RBI, and one double. Another player making a difference was Peyton Visage, who scored three runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Royal hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, Highland came up short against Cajon on Friday, falling 12-3.
Highland saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mateo Dominguez, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Royal pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.2 runs on average over those games. As for Highland, they now have a losing record of 2-3.
Wednesday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Royal hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .335. However, it's not like Highland struggles in that department as they've averaged .345. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
