The West Park Panthers will head out to take on the McClatchy Lions at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
McClatchy will be up against a hot West Park team: the squad just extended their winning streak to four. The Panthers put the hurt on Grant with a sharp 12-2 victory on Tuesday.
Trevor Evangelho looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ayden Deome, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. Jace Oliver also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
West Park was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .421. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .364 or higher in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last contest, McClatchy made sure to put some runs up on the board against Cordova on Monday. The Lions blew past the Lancers 11-1. The win continues a trend for the Lions in their matchups with the Lancers: they've now won seven in a row.
Nico Chandler made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Chandler was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Everett Yeske looked comfortable as he struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk).
Back at the plate, Antonio Barber was incredible, going a perfect 1-for-1 with four stolen bases and two runs. Another player making a difference was Elias Ortega, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs.
West Park's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-5. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for McClatchy, their record now sits at 18-5.
West Park skirted past McClatchy 6-5 when the teams last played back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
