The West Orange Warriors will square off against the Foundation Academy Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as West Orange comes in on five and Foundation Academy on four.
If West Orange beats Foundation Academy with ten runs on Thursday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. West Orange didn't even let Ocoee on the board on Tuesday, marking West Orange's second-straight 10-0 shutout.
Sims McClusky looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in February.
At the plate, West Orange let Angel Martinez and Nathan Rich run wild. Martinez scored three runs while going 1-for-1, while Rich went 1-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. That's the most RBI Rich has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Jayden Taveras, who scored two runs while going 3-for-3.
West Orange was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .318 or higher in five consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Foundation Academy got themselves on the board against Lake Highland Prep on Monday, but Lake Highland Prep never followed suit. They put the hurt on the Highlanders with a sharp 10-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Lions, who have now won six matches by seven runs or more so far this season.
Joshua Ojeda was excellent, scoring a run while going 1-for-3. Charlie Capozzoli was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
West Orange pushed their record up to 13-4 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for Foundation Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 11-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. West Orange has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Foundation Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
West Orange came out on top in a nail-biter against Foundation Academy when the teams last played back in March of 2024, sneaking past 3-1. Will West Orange repeat their success, or does Foundation Academy has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
