Highlands Christian lost against Pine Crest back in March of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. The Highlands Christian Knights took a 12-8 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Pine Crest Panthers. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Highlands Christian in their matchups with Pine Crest: they've now lost three in a row.
Joseph Febus put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Febus was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Joey Arroyo was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Valentino Pupo, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
On Pine Crest's side, Jake Del Vecchio tossed a big game, striking out seven batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off only two hits.
On the hitting side, Pine Crest let Stephen Gladding and Stephen Tate loose on the outfield. Gladding got on base in three of his four plate appearances with a home run, three runs, and two RBI, while Tate scored two runs while going 1-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Cooper Obst, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Highlands Christian's loss dropped their record down to 11-4. As for Pine Crest, their victory bumped their record up to 9-6.
Highlands Christian will look to defend their home field on Friday against Atlantic at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic has struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 12.67 runs per game on average), something Highlands Christian will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Pine Crest, they will head out on the road to square off against Calvary Christian Academy at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Pine Crest is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.5 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
