Baseball Preview: Mather Rangers vs. Chicago Academy Cougars
The Mather Rangers will head out on the road to face off against the Chicago Academy Cougars at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Mather is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.5 runs per game this season.
Last Tuesday, Mather got the win against Disney II by a conclusive 10-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Mather.
Jeriel Mejias and Jadier Castillo made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Mejias struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Castillo tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Mejias has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. At bat, Mejias scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Castillo scored a run and stole five bases while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, J'Anthony Skerrett was incredible, going 1-for-3 with a home run, two stolen bases, and two runs. David Goytia was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Chicago Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They fell 12-9 to Steinmetz College Prep.
Josh Casillas made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole six bases while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Dante Felix, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-5.
Even though they lost, Chicago Academy didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with nine strikeouts. This was only their 11th loss (out of 16 games) when they post five or more strikeouts.
Mather is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season. As for Chicago Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-14.
Chicago Academy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Mather hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .347. It's a different story for Chicago Academy, though, as they've only averaged .210. Will they be able to contain Mather's hitters?
Mather came out on top in a nail-biter against Chicago Academy in their previous meeting back in April, sneaking past 9-7. Does Mather have another victory up their sleeve, or will Chicago Academy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
