Baseball Preview: Wiley Panthers vs. Granada Bobcats
The Wiley Panthers are on the road again on Friday to play the Granada Bobcats at 3:00 p.m.
Last Tuesday, Wiley came up short against Springfield and fell 12-8.
Wiley saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was James Pearson, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Pearson has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Grant Mauch, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Granada came into Tuesday's game having lost nine straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They blew past Manzanola 11-1. Granada's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Jose Sanchez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out 12 over 4.2 innings pitched. Sanchez was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4.
In other batting news, Terrence Hainer and Javier Tejeda did most of the damage at the plate: Hainer scored two runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-4, while Tejeda scored a run and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. Alejandro Perez was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Wiley now has a losing record at 8-9. As for Granada, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 1-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Wiley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Granada struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Wiley's way against Granada when the teams last played back in April of 2023 as Wiley made off with a 7-1 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Granada's Brandon Gonzales, who struck out 11 batters over 4.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be that much easier for Wiley to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
