Baseball Game Preview: St. Francis Sharks vs. Maranatha Minutemen

The St. Francis Sharks will be taking part in a tournament against the Maranatha Minutemen at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday. The last six games St. Francis has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

St. Francis fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Cabrillo on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Conquistadores by a score of 3-2.

Meanwhile, Maranatha came tearing into Wednesday's game with nine straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Braves as they made off with an 8-2 win.

Zach Strickland tossed a big game, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 14 over six innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in eight consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Josh Proctor was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three RBI. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Yahir Treto, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBI and one run.

Maranatha was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .438. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lompoc only posted a batting average of .043.

St. Francis has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 9-8 record this season. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the defeats came by an average of only 1.25 runs. As for Maranatha, their record now sits at 12-6-1.