Baseball Game Preview: Kerman Lions vs. Kingsburg Vikings

For the second straight game, Kerman will face off against Kingsburg. The Lions will head out to square off against the Vikings at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Kerman is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games.

On Tuesday, Kerman needed a bit of extra time to put away Kingsburg. They had just enough and edged out the Vikings 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Lions have posted against the Vikings since March 12, 2022.

Giovanni Gastelum

Hits (Career)

05/06/25 vs Kingsburg	3
04/14/25 vs Carson	2
03/29/25 @ San Luis Obispo	2
04/30/25 vs Immanuel	1
04/25/25 vs Central Valley Christian	1

Giovanni Gastelum made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and one double. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.

In other pitching news, Cameron Gonzalez tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 4.1 innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Langston Manha, who got on base in four of his six plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Ayden Olivares, who went 2-for-5 with one RBI.

Kerman kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive matches.

This is the second loss in a row for Kingsburg and nudges their season record down to 17-9. Even worse, they were so close both times: the losses came by an average of only one runs. As for Kerman, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-8-1.