Shelbyville is 8-2 against Joaquin since April of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Dragons will host the Rams at 6:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Last Tuesday, Shelbyville was able to grind out a solid win over Chireno, taking the game 10-6. The victory continues a trend for the Dragons in their matchups with the Owls: they've now won eight in a row.
Gavin McDonald made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with one RBI.
Tate Obregon
| 04/08/25 @ Chireno | 5 |
| 03/21/25 vs Timpson | 2 |
| 03/25/25 @ Joaquin | 1 |
| 03/14/25 vs Chireno | 1 |
| 03/07/25 vs Mt. Enterprise | 1 |
In other batting news, Tate Obregon was a standout: he went 1-for-4 with one home run and five RBI. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Morgan Doggett, who went 1-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI.
Shelbyville lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Joaquin made easy work of San Augustine on Tuesday and carried off a 12-1 win. With that victory, the Rams brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Like Shelbyville, Joaquin also got a great game from a two-way player: Hunter Kay. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Kay has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in seven consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Kaden Miller and Tate Bass did most of the damage at the plate: Miller scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-2, while Bass went 1-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Joaquin is undefeated when Miller posts two or more stolen bases, but 8-10 otherwise. Conner Rios was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-1.
Shelbyville pushed their record up to 14-6-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for Joaquin, their win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 11-10.
Shelbyville took their victory against Joaquin when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 13-4 score. Will the Dragons repeat their success, or do the Rams have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
