The Elizabeth Cardinals will take on the Alameda Pirates at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Elizabeth 3.1, Alameda 3.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Elizabeth's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Friday's struggle, when The Classical Academy hitters got past them. The Cardinals came up short against the Titans on Friday, falling 11-5. The Cardinals have struggled against the Titans recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive lost meeting.
Walker Blanchard was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double. Another player making a difference was Trevor Bertsch, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Alameda waltzed into their contest on Saturday with 16 straight wins... but they left with 17. They were the clear victors by an 11-4 margin over the Bulldogs. The Pirates might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 17 matchups by six runs or more this season.
Cesar H made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more stolen bases the last four times he's played.
In other batting news, Alameda got a big performance out of Ivan Baca, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Hudson Judy was another key player, going 1-for-3 with three runs and one RBI.
Alameda was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .320 or higher in 17 consecutive games.
Elizabeth's loss dropped their record down to 16-5. As for Alameda, their victory bumped their record up to 19-2.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Elizabeth has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 11.8 hits per game. However, it's not like Alameda struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.5 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Elizabeth took their win against Alameda in their previous matchup back in March of 2018 by a conclusive 21-1 score. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Pirates turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
