The South Spartans will head out on the road to square off against the McFarland Cougars at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (South has six straight wins, McFarland has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
While South's victory against North wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Spartans skirted past the Stars 6-5.
Josh Encinas
| 05/01/25 @ North | 7 |
| 04/24/25 vs Mira Monte | 7 |
| 04/16/25 vs Woodlake | 11 |
| 04/12/25 vs Corcoran | 11 |
| 04/08/25 @ East Bakersfield | 12 |
| + 2 more games |
Josh Encinas made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off nine hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Edgar Gurrola looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, Jose Bojorquez and Tomas Encinas did most of the damage at the plate: Bojorquez got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one double, while Encinas got on base in two of his five plate appearances with four stolen bases and two runs. Bojorquez has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played. Another player making a difference was Julien Espinoza, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one run.
South always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .524. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North only posted an OBP of .324.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when McFarland faced off against Taft on Thursday. The Cougars lost 18-1 to the Wildcats.
South's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-7. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for McFarland, their loss dropped their record down to 7-13-1.
South might still be hurting after the 13-2 defeat they got from McFarland when the teams last played back in March of 2016. Can the Spartans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
