Baseball Game Preview: Escondido Cougars vs. Hilltop Lancers

The Escondido Cougars will be taking part in a tournament against the Hilltop Lancers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The last four games Escondido has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

On Wednesday, Escondido needed a bit of extra time to put away Mission Vista. They had just enough and edged out Mission Vista 4-3. The Cougars haven't had any issues with Mission Vista recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Augie Albert

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/02/25 vs Mission Vista	3
03/21/25 @ El Camino	1
03/08/25 vs San Ysidro	1
03/04/25 vs Oceanside	1
03/01/25 @ Morse	1

Augie Albert made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. Albert was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and one triple. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Escondido let Ace Sanchez and Makaih Gonzalez run wild. Sanchez scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3, while Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with two runs and one triple. That's the most runs Gonzalez has posted since back in March.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 11 runs the game before, Hilltop was a bit more limited in their game on Wednesday. They took a 6-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of Foothill.

Hilltop has also been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-9 record this season. As for Escondido, their victory bumped their record up to 10-2.

Escondido came out on top in a nail-biter against Hilltop in their previous matchup back in May of 2016, sneaking past 6-5. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Lancers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.