The River Ridge Royal Knights will head out on the road to challenge the Wesley Chapel Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. River Ridge will be strutting in after a victory while Wesley Chapel will be coming in after a defeat.
River Ridge not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since February 11th. Everything went their way against Gulf as they made off with a 15-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Royal Knights, who have now won five games by seven runs or more so far this season.
Braden Leach looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
Cameron Kessell
| 04/02/25 vs Gulf | 2 |
| 03/06/25 @ Land O' Lakes | 1 |
| 05/13/24 @ Wesley Chapel | 1 |
| 03/25/24 vs Springstead | 1 |
On the hitting side, Cameron Kessell was incredible, firing off two home runs, six RBI, and three runs while going 3-for-3. Those two home runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Brayden VanFossen, who went 1-for-2 with one home run and three RBI.
River Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .647. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Wesley Chapel and Cypress Creek meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Thursday. The Wildcats fell just short of the Coyotes by a score of 3-1.
Wesley Chapel also got a good showing from Chase Flemming, who pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Flemming has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Dylan Pabon was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
The victory made it two in a row for River Ridge and bumps their season record up to 10-6. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 5 runs in those games. As for Wesley Chapel, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 9-8 record this season.
River Ridge couldn't quite get it done against Wesley Chapel when the teams last played back in February as they fell 4-1. Can the Royal Knights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
