Baseball Game Preview: Pitman Pride vs. Downey Knights

The Pitman Pride will head out on the road to take on the Downey Knights at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Pitman played in-conference for the first time on Friday and they got just the result they were looking for. They walked away with a 7-3 win over Enochs. The game was the first time the Pride have beaten the Eagles on their field since April 28, 2023.

Pitman let Cole Kelley and Nathan Cervantes run wild. Kelley got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI, while Cervantes scored two runs while going 2-for-4. That's the most hits Cervantes has posted since back in May of 2024. Ben Vilhauer also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Meanwhile, Downey had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They came out on top against the Panthers by a score of 4-1.

Jayceon Sloan and Ryne Moore made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Sloan pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Moore struck out 12 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Those zero hits allowed gave Sloan a new career-low. At bat, Sloan went 1-for-3 with one triple and one RBI, while Moore went 1-for-3 with two runs and one triple. Moore has become a key player for Downey: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 0-7 otherwise.

In other batting news, Elijah Ortega was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.

Downey hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in three consecutive games.

Pitman's record is now 5-7. As for Downey, their record now sits at 4-7.

Pitman couldn't quite finish off Downey when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 12-10. Can Pitman avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.