Baseball Game Preview: Clairemont Chieftains vs. Imperial Tigers

The Clairemont Chieftains will face off against the Imperial Tigers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Clairemont's pitching crew has only allowed 2.2 runs per game this season, so Imperial's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

On Wednesday, Clairemont came up short against Francis Parker and fell 4-1.

Clairemont saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Diego Matsumoto, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base.

Meanwhile, Imperial was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 6-5 heartbreaker at the hands of La Jolla. That's two games in a row now that the Tigers have lost by just one run.

Imperial also got a good showing from Bruno Hernandez, who didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Hernandez has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Logan Higginbotham made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs while going 2-for-4. He is becoming a predictor of Imperial's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 4-1 (and 5-6 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Ares Velarde, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.

Imperial's defeat dropped their record down to 9-7. As for Clairemont, their loss dropped their record down to 7-4.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clairemont has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Imperial struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Clairemont might still be hurting after the 9-2 defeat they got from Imperial in their previous meeting back in May of 2018. Will the Chieftains have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.