The Golden Demons are taking a road trip to face off against the Evergreen Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Golden sitting on ten straight wins and Evergreen on five.
Golden proved they can win big on Saturday (they won by six) and on Tuesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged out D'Evelyn 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Demons have posted since April 2nd.
Gunnar Hetrick looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Dylan Paulson, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. Anthony Boucher also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Evergreen took on Pomona on Tuesday. The Cougars walked away with a 10-6 win over the Panthers.
Brody March made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched 3.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, James Mauro was excellent, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI. Another player making a difference was Jackson Hastings, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Evergreen always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .543. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pomona only posted an OBP of .333.
Golden pushed their record up to 15-3 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Evergreen, their record is now 12-4-1.
Thursday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Golden has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .467. However, it's not like Evergreen struggles in that department as they've averaged .437. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Golden's way against Evergreen when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Golden made off with a 7-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Demons since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
