The Northside Mustangs are taking a road trip to challenge the Payton College Prep Grizzlies at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Northside sitting on three straight wins and Payton College Prep on four.
On Wednesday, Northside made easy work of Farragut and carried off a 15-1 victory. That looming 15-1 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Mustangs yet this season.
Will Moran tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He is becoming a predictor of Northside's success: when he allows at most two earned runs the team is undefeated (and 2-4 when he doesn't).
Tyler Weigand
| 04/09/25 @ Farragut | 3 |
| 04/08/25 vs Farragut | 2 |
| 04/03/25 vs Von Steuben | 2 |
| 03/16/24 vs Northridge | 2 |
| 04/04/25 vs Disney II | 1 |
At the plate, Tyler Weigand was a standout: he scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Zack Hotz also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
Northside was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .516. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Payton College Prep won against North Shore Country Day on Saturday with 12 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. The Grizzlies put the hurt on Taft with a sharp 12-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Grizzlies, who have now won four matches by seven runs or more so far this season.
Derek Patton made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Patton was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 5-for-5.
In other batting news, Caleb Salgado was incredible, scoring three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Augie Ruf, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Payton College Prep's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-7. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Northside, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Northside couldn't quite get it done against Payton College Prep in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 as they fell 7-3. Can the Mustangs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
