The Baldwin Braves will head out to challenge the Aquinas Fightin' Irish at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Baldwin has struggled recently with five losses in a row, while Aquinas will arrive with five straight wins.
On Wednesday, Baldwin didn't have quite enough to beat Northeast and fell 10-9.
Justin Adside
| 02/26/25 @ Northeast | 3 |
| 02/25/25 vs Aquinas | 1 |
| 04/19/24 @ Spalding | 1 |
| 02/23/24 @ Rutland | 1 |
Justin Adside made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Braylon Wright also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
While Aquinas didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. Everything went their way against Baldwin on Tuesday as Aquinas made off with a 12-2 victory. Considering the Fightin' Irish have won four contests by more than nine runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
James Sherry made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out ten batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in March of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2. He is becoming a predictor of Aquinas' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Aquinas got a massive performance out of Greg Doman, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-2. Doman is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stole at least one in each of the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Cruz Washington, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-2.
Aquinas always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .548. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Baldwin only posted an OBP of .391.
Aquinas' record now sits at 5-2. As for Baldwin, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Baldwin has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Aquinas struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Baldwin suffered a grim 12-2 defeat to Aquinas in their previous meeting on Tuesday. Can Baldwin avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
