Baseball Game Preview: Aptos Mariners vs. St. Francis Sharks

The Aptos Mariners will head out to take on the St. Francis Sharks at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with five defeats in a row dating back to last season, Aptos turned things around against Menlo School on Saturday. They came out on top against the Knights by a score of 6-1.

Jason Yager and Cole McGillicuddy made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, Yager didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Meanwhile, McGillicuddy pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave Yager a new career-low in earned runs (zero). At bat, Yager went a perfect 2-for-2 with one RBI, while McGillicuddy scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance also gave McGillicuddy a new career-high in RBI (two).

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dom Castillo, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Nate Garcia, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.

St. Francis got their first taste of in-conference action this week and they started things off strong. They walked away with an 11-7 win over Soledad on Tuesday. The Sharks haven't had any issues with the Aztecs recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

Javier Fonseca was incredible, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and one double. St. Francis is 2-1 when Fonseca posts three or more RBI, but 1-2 otherwise. Nash Horton also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

St. Francis' win was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-3. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Aptos, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.

Aptos beat St. Francis 9-5 in their previous matchup back in April of 2022. The rematch might be a little tougher for Aptos since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.