The Carmel Padres will face off against the Los Gatos Wildcats at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Carmel will be strutting in after a win while Los Gatos will be coming in after a defeat.
Carmel took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past St. Francis 12-11. Considering the Padres' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Matt Maxon was incredible, firing off two home runs, five RBI, and three runs while going 2-for-5. Another player making a difference was Sean Carr, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
They weren't the only ones working in the home run department: Carmel lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as St. Francis didn't launched any home runs.
Meanwhile, Los Gatos unfortunately witnessed the end of their 15-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of Wilcox by a score of 4-3.
Ethan Williams was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off eight hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Los Gatos saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Beau Musser, who went 1-for-4 with one triple and one run.
Carmel pushed their record up to 17-9 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.7 runs over those games. As for Los Gatos, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 13-1 and their overall record down to 22-4.
Carmel beat Los Gatos 7-3 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Do the Padres have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
