Baseball Game Preview: Lyford Bulldogs vs. Banquete Bulldogs

Lyford is 0-6 against Banquete since May of 2016 but things could change on Saturday. We've got a battle between Bulldogs coming up. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Lyford 3.4, Banquete 3.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.

If Lyford beats Banquete with 11 runs on Saturday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. Lyford's pitcher stepped up to hand Santa Rosa an 11-0 shutout on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Bulldogs, who have now won eight games by seven runs or more so far this season.

Riley Reyna made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over four innings pitched. What's more, he gave up only one walk, the fewest he's had since back in February. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.

In other batting news, Diego Medina was excellent, scoring two runs. Josiah Palmer was another key player, scoring a run while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Banquete was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 2-1 heartbreaker at the hands of San Diego. That's two games in a row now that the Bulldogs have lost by just one run.

Norman Ramirez was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out 11 batters over 4.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits.

At the plate, Banquete saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Josh Jimenez, who went 1-for-2 with one triple. That triple was Jimenez's first of the season.

Lyford has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games. Banquete's loss dropped their record down to 8-6-1.