The Rio Americano Raiders will square off against the Woodland Christian Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Rio Americano comes in on three and Woodland Christian on eight.
Rio Americano barely beat Franklin the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Rio Americano put the hurt on Franklin with a sharp 9-2 win on Monday. The Raiders not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since February 25th.
Will Parilo
| 03/24/25 @ Franklin | 5 |
| 03/15/25 @ Woodcreek | 0 |
| 03/01/25 vs Cordova | 6 |
Will Parilo made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since March 1st. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on JT Alberghini, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in February. Lincoln Dorway was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Woodland Christian). They blew past Rio Vista 19-8 on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Cardinals, who have now won nine matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Like Rio Americano, Woodland Christian also got a great game from a two-way player: Gary Mann. Throwing, Mann struck out ten batters over 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Armaan Badhesha pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Mann has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Mann scored three runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Badhesha scored two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Jandro Torres was incredible, going 1-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That home run was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Jordan Villanuva, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Woodland Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .684. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .513 or higher in four consecutive games.
Rio Americano pushed their record up to 8-7 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 8.67 hits in those games compared to only 5.08 in the others. As for Woodland Christian, their win bumped their record up to 11-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Rio Americano has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Woodland Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
