The Manteca Buffaloes will challenge the West Park Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Manteca comes in on three and West Park on four.
Manteca is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Rio Americano with a sharp 7-1 win. Considering the Buffaloes have won nine matches by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Jeremy Cross tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in 12 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Brody Carabello was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That home run was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Nate Slikker, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, West Park was able to grind out a solid victory over Ceres on Wednesday, taking the game 9-5.
Mason Zobel made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Zobel was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Preston Davis looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
Back at the plate, Ayden Deome was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one triple. Jace Oliver was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI.
West Park lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
West Park pushed their record up to 23-6 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Manteca, their win bumped their record up to 21-7.
