Baseball Game Preview: Kingsburg Vikings vs. Kerman Lions

For the second straight game, Kingsburg will face off against Kerman. The Vikings will host the Lions at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Kingsburg 3.7, Kerman 2.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Kingsburg fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Kerman on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Lions by a score of 6-5. That's two games in a row now that the Vikings have lost by just one run.

For Kerman's part, Giovanni Gastelum made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. Gastelum has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and one double. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.

In other pitching news, Cameron Gonzalez tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 4.1 innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

Back at the plate, Langston Manha was excellent, getting on base in four of his six plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Ayden Olivares, who went 2-for-5 with one RBI.

Kerman kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive matchups.

Kerman is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-8-1 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.3 runs over those games. As for Kingsburg, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 17-9.