Baseball Game Preview: Lemoore Tigers vs. McLane Highlanders

The Lemoore Tigers will be taking part in a tournament against the McLane Highlanders at 3:10 p.m. on Saturday. Lemoore's pitching crew has only allowed three runs per game this season, so McLane's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Things were looking good for Lemoore after they put the first runs on the board on Friday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They fell just short of Dinuba by a score of 4-3.

Ben Johnson was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-3. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 12 runs the game before, McLane was a bit more limited in their match on Friday. They fell just short of Roosevelt by a score of 3-2.

Lemoore's loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 8-5. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the defeats came by an average of only 1.5 runs. As for McLane, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-9 record this season.

McLane's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Lemoore has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.5 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for McLane, though, as they've been averaging only 3.8 strikeouts. Will Lemoore keep running through batters, or will the Highlanders buck the trend?

Everything went Lemoore's way against McLane in their previous matchup back in March of 2017, as Lemoore made off with an 18-3 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.