Preview: Stevenson Pirates vs. Watsonville Wildcatz
The Stevenson Pirates will head out on the road to take on the Watsonville Wildcatz at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Stevenson has five straight victories, Watsonville has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Stevenson's hitters rose to the challenge against a Condors pitching crew that boasted an average of only four points allowed on Friday. Stevenson put the hurt on North Monterey County with a sharp 13-0 win. The result was nothing new for Stevenson, who have now won four contests by nine runs or more so far this season.
Nobody will forget Andrew Airada's heroic performance anytime soon (especially North Monterey County's batters): he turned in a perfect game. Airada has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Reggie Bell was incredible, going 3-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. Amani Wilson was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Watsonville came up short against Harbor on Saturday and fell 10-5.
Josh Ybarra II and Rudy Valdez did some serious damage despite the final result: Ybarra II scored a run and stole three bases while going 3-for-4, while Valdez scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Mateo Lopez, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Stevenson's victory was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 8.5 runs. As for Watsonville, their loss dropped their record down to 1-11.
Watsonville's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Stevenson hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .368. It's a different story for Watsonville, though, as they've only averaged .250. Will they be able to contain Stevenson's hitters?
Stevenson was able to grind out a solid win over Watsonville in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, winning 8-4. Will Stevenson repeat their success, or does Watsonville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
