The River Islands Riptide will square off against the Lathrop Spartans at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (River Islands has six straight victories, Lathrop has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
River Islands is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Stockton Christian with a sharp 25-4 win on Tuesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
George Dayeh made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run but no hits. Dayeh was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Noah Uribe
| 03/04/25 vs Stockton Christian | 2 |
| 03/03/25 vs Chavez | 3 |
| 03/01/25 vs Chavez | 1 |
| 02/27/25 @ McNair | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Noah Uribe, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four runs, two stolen bases, and four RBI. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Devyn Kotecha, who scored three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
River Islands was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Tuesday just wasn't the day for Lathrop's offense. They lost 6-0 to Edison on Tuesday.
Nazir Jones made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one double. Tommy Hammond also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
River Islands' win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.8 runs over those games. As for Lathrop, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-6.
Lathrop's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: River Islands has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .433. It's a different story for Lathrop, though, as they've only averaged .299. Will they be able to contain River Islands' hitters? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
