Baseball Game Preview: Porterville Panthers vs. El Diamante Miners

The Porterville Panthers are taking a road trip to take on the El Diamante Miners at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. El Diamante took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Porterville, who comes in off a win.

Porterville took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They walked away with a 10-5 victory over Golden West. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Panthers as it put an end to their six-game losing streak.

Jacoby Roman and Gio Perez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Roman struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. Meanwhile, Perez pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those six strikeouts gave Roman a new career-high. At bat, Roman got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI, while Perez got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those runs were Perez's first of the season.

In other batting news, Valentin Nunez was excellent, going 1-for-3 with four RBI and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Eric Shiers, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI.

Porterville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .595. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

The home team had won the previous three meetings between El Diamante and Mt. Whitney, and Mt. Whitney kept the tradition alive. The Miners might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 4-3 to the Pioneers, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.

El Diamante's defeat was their fifth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 9-14-1. As for Porterville, their record now sits at 7-18.

Porterville might still be hurting after the 6-0 loss they got from El Diamante in their previous meeting back in April. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.