Baseball Game Preview: Santiago Sharks vs. Corona Panthers

Santiago is 2-8 against Corona since April of 2023 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Sharks will be playing in front of their home fans against the Panthers at 3:15 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Santiago 3.5, Corona 3.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Santiago is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They came out on top against Etiwanda by a score of 8-4.

Meanwhile, Corona and Orange Lutheran (ranked 47th and seventh in the MaxPreps national rankings respectively) squared off in a high-profile game on Friday. The Panthers took a 9-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Lancers.

Corona saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Anthony Murphy, who went 1-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another was Matthew Herrera, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

Santiago has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-11 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.2 runs over those games. As for Corona, their defeat dropped their record down to 22-7.

Santiago couldn't quite get it done against Corona in their previous matchup back in March as they fell 8-3. Can the Sharks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.