Baseball Game Preview: Acalanes Dons vs. Rancho Cotate Cougars

The Acalanes Dons will square off against the Rancho Cotate Cougars at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.

Acalanes is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged out Cardinal Newman 4-2.

Branson Smith spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on three hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Ando Butner was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one home run. Another player making a difference was David Gonzales, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Rancho Cotate was able to grind out a solid victory over Tamalpais on Wednesday, taking the game 6-1.

Camden Henington was a major factor no matter where he played. He tossed seven innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Henington was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.

Henington wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Caden Bolin Percy, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.

Rancho Cotate pushed their record up to 16-12 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Acalanes, their win bumped their record up to 16-10-1.