Baseball Preview: Dinuba Emperors vs. Mission Oak Hawks
Dinuba is 7-1 against Mission Oak since March of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Dinuba Emperors will be playing at home against the Mission Oak Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Dinuba scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 12-4 margin over Tulare Union. The victory was just what Dinuba needed coming off of a 15-9 defeat in their prior contest.
Austin Kelly looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Dominic Gonzalez relieved him and did a solid job, pitching three innings while giving up no earned run off one hit.
On the hitting side, Anthony Pompa was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with three RBI, a triple, and a stolen base. Paul Huerta was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Mission Oak had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs), and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over the Bullpups.
Fabian Jurado looked comfortable as he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also only allowed one walk).
At the plate, Mission Oak saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gage Hastin, who scored a run while going 1-for-2. Hastin has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
Dinuba's victory bumped their record up to 6-11. As for Mission Oak, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 9-7 record this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
