Baseball Recap: Make It Six in a Row for Academy for Academic Excellence

Knights

Margin (Wins)

04/11/25 vs Lucerne Valley	13
04/08/25 @ Lucerne Valley	12
04/22/25 @ Victor Valley Christian	11
04/15/25 @ Academy of Careers & Exploration	10
02/18/25 vs Academy of Careers & Exploration	10

Academy for Academic Excellence waltzed into their matchup on Friday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They put the hurt on the Victor Valley Christian Royals with a sharp 10-1 victory. Considering the Knights have won seven contests by more than six runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Noah Knecht and Bryson Lilly were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Knecht didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Meanwhile, Lilly tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Academy for Academic Excellence is undefeated when he allows at most two walks, but 7-9 otherwise. At bat, Knecht earned two runs and two stolen bases, while Lilly got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs. Knecht is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last seven games he's played.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gavin Ripley, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run. He is becoming a predictor of Academy for Academic Excellence's success: when he posts at least three RBI the team is undefeated (and 7-9 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Aiden Carmona, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

Academy for Academic Excellence pushed their record up to 10-9 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.8 runs over those games. As for Victor Valley Christian, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-10.

We've got plenty of inter-league action coming up soon. Academy for Academic Excellence will challenge rival Silver Valley at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Victor Valley Christian is set to take on their familiar foe Lucerne Valley at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.