The Jay Royals will head out on the road to take on the Walton Braves at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Jay is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.3 runs per game this season.
Jay will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Wednesday, then bounced right back against Central on Monday. The Royals blew past the Jaguars 11-1. The result was nothing new for the Royals, who have now won five contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Jax Lowery made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Lowery was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Landon Golden
| 03/23/26 vs Central | 2 |
| 03/10/26 @ Chipley | 1 |
| 02/12/26 @ L.E.A.D. Academy | 1 |
| 04/07/25 vs Baker | 1 |
| 03/06/25 vs Northview | 1 |
In other batting news, Jay got a massive performance out of Landon Golden, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Those two stolen bases gave Golden a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Cam Pierce, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI and two runs.
Jay was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Tuesday just wasn't the day for Walton's offense. They might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 11-0 to Central, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior. The Braves have struggled against the Jaguars recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Walton saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Timmy Busby, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base. That stolen base marked the first that Busby has snagged this season.
Jay's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-3. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for Walton, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-13.
Walton's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Jay has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .465. It's a different story for Walton, though, as they've only averaged .284. Will they be able to contain Jay's hitters?
Jay got the 'W' in their previous matchup back in March of 2025 against Walton by a conclusive 9-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Royals since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
