The Elk Grove Thundering Herd will face off against the Franklin Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Elk Grove sitting on three straight wins and Franklin on six.
If Elk Grove beats Franklin with four runs on Monday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. The Thundering Herd had just enough and edged out Laguna Creek 4-2.
Bryce Engle looked comfortable as he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Tristen Bartlett, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. Chase Groves was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Elk Grove hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least four batters in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Franklin). Their pitchers stepped up to hand Sheldon a 24-0 shutout on Friday. Considering the Wildcats have won six contests by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Noah Flores looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Franklin got a massive performance out of Jason Harris, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and one triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Dylan Minnatee, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Elk Grove's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-5. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Franklin, their victory bumped their record up to 12-2.
Elk Grove came out on top in a nail-biter against Franklin in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 2-0. Will the Thundering Herd repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
