The Los Gatos Wildcats are taking a road trip to face off against the Junipero Serra Padres at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Los Gatos 3, Junipero Serra 2.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Los Gatos is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-8 win over Franklin.
Ethan Williams tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 5.2 innings pitched. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Brayden Smith was excellent, going 1-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Will Temple, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Junipero Serra came tearing into Tuesday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Falcons. That's two games straight that the Padres have won by just one run.
Kelley Crawford looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit.
On the hitting side, Tyler Harrison and Evan Bradshaw did most of the damage at the plate: Harrison got on base in four of his six plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI, while Bradshaw went 2-for-5 with one run and one double. Another player making a difference was Ian Josephson, who got three hits from his five at bats.
Junipero Serra kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as College Park only managed five hits.
Los Gatos is on a roll lately: they've won 18 of their last 20 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 25-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.4 runs over those games. As for Junipero Serra, their record is now 27-6.
Los Gatos couldn't quite get it done against Junipero Serra in their previous meeting back in March as they fell 6-1. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
