The Morro Bay Pirates are taking a road trip to face off against the Taft Wildcats at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Morro Bay's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Nipomo as they made off with an 8-0 victory. The Pirates haven't had any issues with the Titans recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Quentin Crotts and Cruz Wilkinson did most of the damage at the plate: Crotts went 2-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI, while Wilkinson went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. That's the most doubles Crotts has posted since back in March. Odin Grafton also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
Meanwhile, Taft waltzed into their contest on Thursday with three straight wins... but they left with four. Everything went their way against the Tigers as they made off with a 12-4 victory.
William Espinoza was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dylan Clark, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one triple. Taft is 5-2 when Clark posts two or more runs, but 6-11 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Blayne Farkas, who got on base in two of his three plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.
Taft kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least ten hits in four consecutive matches.
Morro Bay's record is now 20-6. As for Taft, their record now sits at 11-13.
Morro Bay skirted past Taft 7-5 in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Pirates since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
