Baseball Game Preview: Tamalpais Red Tailed Hawks vs. Novato Hornets

For the second straight game, Tamalpais will face off against Novato. The Red Tailed Hawks will head out on the road to take on the Hornets at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Tamalpais is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.

Tamalpais' usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Tuesday's struggle, when Novato hitters got past them. The Red Tailed Hawks came up short against the Hornets on Tuesday, falling 13-5. Surprisingly, this marked the seventh straight game that the away team has come away the victor.

For Novato's part, the team relied heavily on Gio Castaing, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-5. Castaing is becoming a predictor of the Hornets' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 4-1 (and 4-6 when he doesn't). Cash Campbell also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

The victory was the third in a row for Novato, bringing their record up to 8-7. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Tamalpais, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-5.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Tamalpais has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Novato struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.