Baseball Game Preview: Venus Bulldogs vs. Itasca Wampus Cats

The Venus Bulldogs will take on the Itasca Wampus Cats at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Venus has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with six straight defeats, while Itasca will come in with four straight victories.

Venus fell victim to Alvarado and their airtight pitching crew last Friday. They lost 14-0 to the Indians.

Meanwhile, Itasca got the win against Meridian on Tuesday by a conclusive 8-1. Considering the Wampus Cats have won 11 contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Maddox Abrego made a splash no matter where he played. He tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Abrego was even better at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.

In other pitching news, Gage Bassett tossed a big game, tossing six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. What's more, he posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March.

Back at the plate, Itasca let Aydan Villarreal and Caden Littlejohn run wild. Villarreal went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI, while Littlejohn went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. That's the most hits Villarreal has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Mears, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Venus' loss dropped their record down to 9-14. As for Itasca, their win bumped their record up to 14-3.

Venus came out on top in a nail-biter against Itasca when the teams last played back in March of 2024, sneaking past 7-6. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Wampus Cats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.