Baseball Game Preview: Sylmar Spartans vs. Kennedy Cougars

The Sylmar Spartans will take on the Kennedy Cougars at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Sylmar's pitching crew has only allowed 1.7 runs per game this season, so Kennedy's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Sylmar picked up another tournament win on Saturday. They came out on top against Palisades by a score of 5-2.

Meanwhile, Kennedy beat Marshall 6-1 on Saturday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cougars.

Alexander Mendez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March.

In other pitching news, Jay Carmona and Vincent Zepeda dominated on the mound. Carmona tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits, while Zepeda tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Zepeda has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

Back at the plate, Andrew Aguirre was excellent, going 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs. He has become a key player for Kennedy: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-16 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Rocky Marin, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI.

Kennedy pushed their record up to 8-16 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Sylmar, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-5 record this season.

Sylmar skirted past Kennedy 2-0 in their previous meeting back in March. Will the Spartans repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.