The Rockledge Raiders will challenge the Melbourne Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Neither Rockledge nor Melbourne posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.
Rockledge fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Melbourne Central Catholic on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Hustlers by a score of 2-1. The match marked the Raiders' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Melbourne's offense. They fell 3-0 to Merritt Island on Friday. The loss was the Bulldogs' first of the season.
Landon Barney was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Melbourne saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bryson Ayala, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base. Ayala is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's stolen at least one every time he's taken the field this season.
Rockledge's defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 4-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 8.5 runs. As for Melbourne, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 2-1.
Rockledge was able to grind out a solid win over Melbourne in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, winning 3-0. Does Rockledge have another victory up their sleeve, or will Melbourne turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
