Baseball Game Preview: Lathrop Spartans vs. Central Valley Hawks

For the second straight game, Lathrop will face off against Central Valley. The Spartans will be playing at home against the Hawks at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Lathrop has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with four straight defeats, while Central Valley will come in with three straight wins.

Tuesday just wasn't the day for Lathrop's offense. They lost 14-0 to Central Valley on Tuesday.

For Central Valley's part, they got a massive performance out of Caden Mendonca, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Those three RBI gave Mendonca a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Andre Flores, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.

Central Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .607. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Central Valley's victory bumped their record up to 13-7. As for Lathrop, their loss dropped their record down to 5-12.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lathrop has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Central Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.