The Highland Hawks will face off against the Blue Ridge Barons at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Highland's pitching crew has only allowed 3.2 runs per game this season, so Blue Ridge's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Highland proved they can win big on Wednesday (they won by ten) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Western Branch 3-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Hawks have posted since March 29th.
Antonio Burke looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
Jake Gunning
| 04/17/26 vs Western Branch | 2 |
| 04/15/26 vs Jackson-Reed | 2 |
| 04/11/26 vs Grace Christian | 2 |
| 04/07/26 @ Chantilly | 2 |
| 04/03/26 vs McDowell | 2 |
| + 12 more games |
On the hitting side, Jake Gunning was incredible, firing off two home runs while going 2-for-3. He also scored two runs, which is notable because Highland is 9-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 4-5 otherwise.
Meanwhile, Blue Ridge made easy work of Eastern Mennonite on Friday and carried off a 15-1 win. The victory continues a trend for the Barons in their matchups with the Flames: they've now won nine in a row.
Junho Lee made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Lee was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Blue Ridge let Gregory Wells and Jacob Darrin run wild. Wells went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Darrin went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI Darrin has posted since back in April of 2025. Another player making a difference was Jason Byers, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.
Blue Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Highland's win bumped their record up to 13-6. As for Blue Ridge, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.
