Baseball Game Preview: Ocosta Wildcats vs. Oakville Acorns

The Ocosta Wildcats will head out to face off against the Oakville Acorns at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Ocosta fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Wahkiakum on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Mules by a score of 7-5. The Wildcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Oakville, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They walked away with a 7-3 victory over Quilcene on Wednesday. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Acorns as it put an end to their five-game losing streak.

Giovanni Rodas made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs. He has become a key player for Oakville: the team is 4-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 0-7 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dre Kluth, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, one triple, and two RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Oakville's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 2-1 (and 2-7 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Daniel Rodas, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.

Ocosta's defeat dropped their record down to 4-9. As for Oakville, their record is now 4-8.

Everything went Ocosta's way against Oakville in their previous meeting last Tuesday, as Ocosta made off with a 16-6 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.