Baseball Game Preview: Monterey Dores vs. Stevenson Pirates

The Monterey Dores will square off against the Stevenson Pirates at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Thursday just wasn't the day for Monterey's offense. They fell 5-0 to Hollister on Thursday. The Dores have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Stevenson came tearing into Wednesday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Bruins as they made off with a 9-1 win. Considering the Pirates have won eight matches by more than six runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

Phinn Thomas made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. He is becoming a predictor of Stevenson's success: when he allows at most two earned runs the team is undefeated (and 6-7 when he doesn't). Thomas was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Reggie Bell, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with one home run and five RBI. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Jacob Hall was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.

Stevenson lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.

Monterey's loss dropped their record down to 9-17. As for Stevenson, their victory bumped their record up to 16-7.

Monterey took their win against Stevenson when the teams last played back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 7-1 score. Will the Dores repeat their success, or do the Pirates have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.