The Academy of Careers & Exploration Eagle will venture away from home to challenge the Cate Rams at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Academy of Careers & Exploration will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each contest than the last.
Academy of Careers & Exploration is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 20-3 margin over Lucerne Valley on Friday. Considering the Eagle have won three games by more than seven runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Thomas Koupeny and Thomas Martinez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Koupeny pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Martinez struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off one hit. That one hit allowed gave Koupeny a new career-low. At bat, Koupeny went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four runs, and four RBI, while Martinez scored three runs while going 3-for-4. That's the most RBI Koupeny has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Jeremy Stevens and Andre Randall did most of the damage at the plate: Stevens scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3, while Randall scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Those three hits gave Stevens a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Antonio Thomas, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple.
Academy of Careers & Exploration always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .711. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lucerne Valley only posted an OBP of .435.
Meanwhile, Cate made easy work of Valley Christian Academy on Thursday and carried off a 19-12 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Rams.
Cate let Noah Casbarro and Peter Lehman run wild. Casbarro scored five runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all six of his plate appearances, while Lehman fired off two home runs, seven RBI, and three runs while going 2-for-5. Casbarro has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Chase Meyer, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of his six plate appearances.
Cate now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Academy of Careers & Exploration, their record now sits at 3-6.
Everything went Academy of Careers & Exploration's way against Cate when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Academy of Careers & Exploration made off with a 9-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Academy of Careers & Exploration since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
