The Franklin Wildcats will take on the De La Salle Spartans in a tournament on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Franklin 3.2, De La Salle 2.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Franklin is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Elk Grove just ended the team's eight-game winning streak on Friday. They took an 8-4 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Thundering Herd.
Jason Harris made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Dylan Minnatee, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles.
Meanwhile, De La Salle had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.4 runs) and they went ahead and made it nine on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Marauders a 6-0 shutout. Considering the Spartans have won six matchups by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Not much got past Graham Schlicht, who gave up just four hits and racked up 11 Ks to keep Jesuit off the board. Schlicht has been consistent : he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Alec Blair was excellent, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3. Zach Tchejeyan also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
De La Salle kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive contests.
De La Salle's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-2. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Franklin, their defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 8-1 and their overall record down to 14-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Franklin has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like De La Salle struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
