Baseball Game Preview: Ponderosa Bruins vs. Rio Americano Raiders

The Ponderosa Bruins will head out to challenge the Rio Americano Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ponderosa has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with four straight defeats, while Rio Americano will come in with five straight wins.

Ponderosa fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Christian Brothers on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Falcons by a score of 5-4.

Joe Stevens was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.

Tommy Texdahl

Hits (Career)

03/28/25 @ Christian Brothers	3
03/25/25 vs Christian Brothers	2
02/28/25 vs Union Mine	2
02/25/25 @ Foresthill	2
05/02/24 @ Nevada Union	2

On the hitting side, Tommy Texdahl made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 3-for-3 with one double and one RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Maddox Chapman also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, Rio Americano got themselves on the board against Reed on Friday, but Reed never followed suit. They were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over Reed.

Everett Filippo was a standout: he scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Will Parilo was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with four RBI, one run, and one double.

Rio Americano always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .606. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Rio Americano pushed their record up to 10-7 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Ponderosa, their loss dropped their record down to 6-8.