Baseball Preview: Plano Reapers vs. Westmont Sentinels
The Plano Reapers will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Westmont Sentinels at 4:45 p.m. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Plano sitting on six straight wins and Westmont on four.
In what's become a running theme this season, Plano gave their fans yet another huge victory on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Richmond-Burton with a sharp 13-1 win.
Kaden Aguirre made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit (and not a single walk). Aguirre has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances. Aguirre was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, Plano let Jake Decker and Jason Phillips loose on the outfield. Decker scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Phillips went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs, and two RBI. Phillips is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Josh Stellwagen, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI and a double.
Meanwhile, Westmont was able to grind out a solid victory over Illinois C on Monday, taking the game 8-3.
Like Plano, Westmont also got a great game from a two-way player: Noah Grimm. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Grimm was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Rocco Damato, who scored a run and stole three bases while going 1-for-1. Lucas Hicks was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Plano has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 15 of their last 17 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 19-7 record this season. As for Westmont, they pushed their record up to 16-7-1 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Plano has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Westmont struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.6. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Plano came up short against Westmont in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, falling 10-7. Can Plano avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
