The Oakland Tech Bulldogs will square off against the Encinal Jets at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Oakland Tech is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they’ve averaged 7 runs per game this season.
Oakland Tech fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Piedmont on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Highlanders by a score of 6-5.
Elijah Rucker
04/02/26 vs Piedmont203/20/26 vs Castro Valley203/19/26 @ Arroyo203/18/26 vs Head-Royce103/17/26 vs Newark Memorial1+ 2 more games
Elijah Rucker was cooking despite his team’s loss, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run. He has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last seven times he’s played. Gustavo Locher was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Encinal never let their opponents score on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Mt. Eden with a sharp 11-0 win. Considering the Jets have won four contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday’s blowout was nothing new.
Darren Olson looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Evan Furuichi and Miles Acevedo did most of the damage at the plate: Furuichi went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run, while Acevedo went a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. That’s the most RBI Acevedo has posted since back in April of 2025. Another player making a difference was Eric Proctor, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Encinal always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .538. That’s the best OBP they’ve posted all season.
Encinal pushed their record up to 11-2 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.1 runs over those games. As for Oakland Tech, their loss dropped their record down to 6-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Oakland Tech has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it’s not like Encinal struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Oakland Tech got the ‘W’ in their previous matchup back in March of 2022 against Encinal by a conclusive 7-1 score. Do the Bulldogs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Jets turn the tables on them? We’ll have the answer soon enough.