Baseball Preview: Hughson Huskies vs. Linden Lions
Hughson is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Linden is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Hughson Huskies will take on the Linden Lions at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Hughson: 1.8, Linden: 3.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Hughson can now show off 14 landslide victories after their most recent contest on Thursday. They put the hurt on Hilmar with a sharp 16-1 win.
Max Mankins made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Mankins has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances. Mankins was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, JC Lupercio was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Beau Blake, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Linden came up short against Weston Ranch on Wednesday and fell 5-2.
Linden also got a good showing from Justin Sales, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
At the plate, Linden saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Braden Busalacchi, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Hughson's victory bumped their record up to 24-2. As for Linden, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-10.
Linden's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Hughson hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .336. It's a different story for Linden, though, as they've only averaged .253. Will they be able to contain Hughson's hitters?
Hughson was able to grind out a solid win over Linden in their previous matchup back in May of 2022, winning 10-7. Will Hughson repeat their success, or does Linden have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
