Baseball Game Preview: Vista del Lago Eagles vs. University Prep Panthers

The Vista del Lago Eagles will be taking part in a tournament against the University Prep Panthers at 2:00 p.m. on Monday. The last three games Vista del Lago has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

On Friday, it was close, but Vista del Lago sidestepped Ponderosa for a 3-1 victory. The Eagles haven't had any issues with the Bruins recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Carson Kocina spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Vista del Lago's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Asher Taylor, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Meanwhile, University Prep entered their tilt with Yreka on Thursday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They walked away with an 8-5 win over the Miners. That's two games straight that the Panthers have won by exactly three runs.

The team relied heavily on Waylon Stripling, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in February. Tyler White was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.

University Prep pushed their record up to 11-5-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Vista del Lago, their victory bumped their record up to 14-7.