The Junipero Serra Padres will face off against the Los Gatos Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Junipero Serra is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against College Park, sneaking past 2-1. The victory was familiar territory for the Padres, who have now won four matchups in a row.
Kelley Crawford looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, 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. Ian Josephson was another key player, getting 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.
Franklin typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Los Gatos proved too difficult a challenge. 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.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Brayden Smith, who went 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. Another player making a difference was Will Temple, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Los Gatos has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 18 of their last 20 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 25-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Junipero Serra, their win bumped their record up to 27-6.
Junipero Serra was able to grind out a solid victory over Los Gatos in their previous matchup back in March, winning 6-1. Do the Padres have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
