Baseball Game Preview: Mission Bay Buccaneers vs. Clairemont Chieftains

For the second straight game, Mission Bay will face off against Clairemont. The Buccaneers will be playing at home against the Chieftains at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Mission Bay is on a three-game streak of home wins, Clairemont a four-game streak of away wins, meaning someone's leaving a streak behind.

Mission Bay is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Clairemont 14-4 on Monday. With that win, the Buccaneers brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.

Van Playman

Doubles (Career)

04/28/25 @ Clairemont	2
04/22/25 @ San Diego	1
03/08/25 @ Bishop's	1
04/19/24 @ Scripps Ranch	1

Van Playman made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed seven innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs, two doubles, and one RBI. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Vince Kasunich, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Another player making a difference was Gavin Griffiths, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three runs and one RBI.

Mission Bay always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .522. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Mission Bay is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for Clairemont, the defeat snapped their winning streak at seven games and leaves them with a 14-6 record.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mission Bay has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Clairemont struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.