Baseball Preview: Tracy Bulldogs vs. Lodi Flames
The Tracy Bulldogs will head out on the road to take on the Lodi Flames at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Tracy has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Lodi will arrive with five straight victories.
Last Friday, Tracy fell victim to a rough 14-2 defeat at the hands of St. Mary's.
Tracy saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ryan Torres, who went 2-for-2 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Lodi's rock-solid pitcher showed up for the team's third consecutive shutout on Friday. They put the hurt on West with a sharp 14-0 win.
Andrew Fichtner tossed a big game, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Charlie Casazza, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Preston Plath, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Tracy's loss dropped their record down to 12-9. As for Lodi, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Tracy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lodi struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Tracy came out on top in a nail-biter against Lodi when the teams last played back in April of 2023, sneaking past 6-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for Tracy since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
