The Taft Eagles will square off against the Whitney Young Dolphins at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Taft has four straight victories, Whitney Young has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Taft barely beat Ogden International the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Eagles put the hurt on Ogden International with a sharp 11-1 win on Thursday. The Eagles not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since April 13th (when they won 12-1).
Jason Colon looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out seven over four innings pitched. He has become a key player for Taft: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 6-8 otherwise.
Ethan Acosta
| 04/30/26 vs Ogden International | 2 |
| 04/29/26 @ Whitney Young | 1 |
| 04/24/26 @ Ogden International | 1 |
| 04/13/26 @ Lincoln Park | 1 |
| 04/10/26 vs Lincoln Park | 1 |
On the hitting side, Ethan Acosta and Andrew Korolis did most of the damage at the plate: Acosta went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Korolis went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one double. Those two runs gave Acosta a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucas Espinosa, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI and one run.
Taft was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ogden International only posted a batting average of .000.
Meanwhile, Whitney Young fell victim to St. Patrick and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They came up short against the Shamrocks, falling 10-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Dolphins have suffered since April 4th.
Whitney Young saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Theo Kimmeth, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one double.
Taft's victory bumped their record up to 8-9. As for Whitney Young, their loss dropped their record down to 12-11.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Taft has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Whitney Young struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Taft beat Whitney Young 4-0 in their previous matchup on Wednesday. Do the Eagles have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Dolphins turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
