The Hillsdale Fighting Knights will face off against the Menlo-Atherton Bears at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Hillsdale took a ten-run defeat the last time they faced off against King's Academy, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Fighting Knights sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-4 victory over the Knights on Friday.
Hillsdale got a great performance from Robert Gilbert as he pitched six innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Gilbert also tossed a walk, which is notable because the Fighting Knights are 4-2 when he allows at most one walk, but 8-9 otherwise.
Jake Belloni
| 05/09/25 vs King's Academy | 2 |
| 05/03/25 vs Washington | 1 |
| 04/25/25 vs Sacred Heart Prep | 1 |
| 04/21/25 @ Palo Alto | 1 |
| 04/12/25 @ Aragon | 1 |
| 04/11/25 @ Burlingame | 2 |
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jake Belloni, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April. Curtis Lee was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs.
Meanwhile, Menlo-Atherton had already won two in a row and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They walked away with a 7-2 win over the Panthers.
Jack Molise tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit.
At the plate, Ryder Kelly was incredible, going 3-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. He continues to improve, besting his previous run total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Merrick Lee, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs.
Menlo-Atherton pushed their record up to 18-7 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.7 runs over those games. As for Hillsdale, they now have a winning record of 12-11.
Hillsdale came up short against Menlo-Atherton when the teams last played back in May of 2024, falling 9-6. Can the Fighting Knights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
