Baseball Game Preview: Holtville Vikings vs. Calexico Bulldogs

For the second straight game, Holtville will face off against Calexico. The Vikings are taking a road trip to square off against the Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

Holtville came into their game on Tuesday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They came up short against Calexico, falling 10-2. The defeat continues a trend for the Vikings in their meetings with the Bulldogs: they've now lost three in a row.

For Calexico's part, Jose Ortega was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Ortega has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in nine consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

In other pitching news, Antonio Gonzalez tossed a big game, striking out eight batters over 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.

Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Andree Tapia, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Kenneth Calderon, who went 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

The win (which was Calexico's ninth in a row) raised their record to 18-3-1. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Holtville, their loss dropped their record down to 6-17.