Baseball Game Preview: Golden West Trailblazers vs. Porterville Panthers

The Golden West Trailblazers will head out on the road to square off against the Porterville Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The last three games Golden West has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Golden West had taken Mt. Whitney down for two straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Tuesday. The Trailblazers fell just short of the Pioneers by a score of 3-2. That's two games in a row now that the Trailblazers have lost by just one run.

Connor Stephens was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in March.

Meanwhile, Porterville was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their sixth straight loss. They lost 11-4 to Redwood.

Porterville saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nick Miranda, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs.

Porterville's defeat dropped their record down to 6-18. As for Golden West, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 10-13 record this season.

Everything went Golden West's way against Porterville in their previous matchup back in March, as Golden West made off with a 6-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Trailblazers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.