Baseball Game Preview: McKinleyville Panthers vs. Arcata Tigers

The McKinleyville Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Arcata Tigers at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

McKinleyville's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They blew past Del Norte 13-0. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Panthers considering their two-run performance the contest before.

Tate Saso

Hits (Career)

05/03/25 @ Del Norte	3
04/30/25 vs Eureka	1
04/26/25 vs Fortuna	1
04/23/25 @ Foothill	1
04/19/25 vs Arcata	1

Tate Saso was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one walk in nine consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one triple. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Jackson Kelly was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Bryce Sargent, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.

Meanwhile, Arcata got the win against Fortuna on Saturday by a conclusive 15-0. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Huskies recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

McKinleyville's record is now 19-6. As for Arcata, their record now sits at 12-10.

Everything went McKinleyville's way against Arcata in their previous matchup two weeks ago, as McKinleyville made off with a 10-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.