The Avalon Black Knights will challenge the Jackson-Reed Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Avalon's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against St. Anselm's Abbey as they made off with an 11-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Black Knights in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won eight in a row.
Javeth Carrion
| 04/16/25 @ St. Anselm's Abbey | 3 |
| 04/05/25 @ NOVA HomeSchool | 3 |
| 03/19/25 @ Chen | 2 |
| 04/15/25 @ Burke | 1 |
| 03/29/25 @ The Heights | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
Avalon got a massive performance out of Javeth Carrion, who scored three runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-3. Carrion has become a key player for the Black Knights: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 2-9 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Micah Owonu, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and four RBI.
Jackson-Reed never got on the board in their matchup on Thursday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Bethesda-Chevy Chase last Tuesday. They blew past the Barons 11-3. The result was nothing new for the Tigers, who have now won nine games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Simon Corbin looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Freeman Hunt was excellent, scoring three runs while going 2-for-3. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Rowan Hopson, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Jackson-Reed always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bethesda-Chevy Chase only posted an OBP of .344.
Jackson-Reed is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Avalon, their victory bumped their record up to 4-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Avalon has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Jackson-Reed struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Avalon couldn't quite finish off Jackson-Reed when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 9-7. Will the Black Knights have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
