The Payson Lions are taking a road trip to take on the Juab Wasps at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Payson is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let American Leadership Academy get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory on Monday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Lions considering their two-run performance the match before.
Ruger Braithwaite
| 04/14/25 vs American Leadership Academy | 6 |
| 03/22/25 vs Juan Diego Catholic | 4 |
| 04/11/25 @ Uintah | 2 |
| 03/11/25 @ Timpview | 1 |
| 03/04/25 vs Springville | 1 |
Ruger Braithwaite was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Payson's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-13 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Maddux DeGraffenried was incredible, scoring two runs while going 2-for-2. That's the most runs he has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Brandon Ruiz, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Payson always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .656. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Juab entered their tilt with Richfield on Wednesday with 11 consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with 12. They put the hurt on the Wildcats with a sharp 10-0 win. Considering the Wasps have won seven contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Not much got past Austin Park, who gave up just a hit and racked up nine Ks to keep Richfield off the board. Park has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Connor Cowan, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Hayden Adams also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Juab pushed their record up to 14-3 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Payson, with the victory, they broke their five-game losing streak and moved their record to 6-13.
Payson suffered a grim 12-1 defeat to Juab in their previous matchup back in May of 2023. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
