Baseball Game Preview: Turlock Christian Eagles vs. Johansen Vikings

The Turlock Christian Eagles will square off against the Johansen Vikings at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

On Friday, Turlock Christian earned a 5-2 victory over Mariposa County. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Eagles.

Winston York

Batters Struck Out (Career)

02/21/25 vs Mariposa County	7
03/28/24 vs Millennium	4
05/02/24 @ Big Valley Christian	3
03/18/24 vs Orestimba	3
02/12/25 @ Denair	2

Winston York made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over 5.2 innings pitched. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.

In other batting news, Michael Miller was excellent, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, Johansen and Modesto finished up their match with a 5-5 draw on Thursday.

Turlock Christian pushed their record up to 2-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.2 runs over those games. With that tie, Johansen's record moves to 3-1-1.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Turlock Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Johansen struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Turlock Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over Johansen in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, winning 6-1. Will Turlock Christian repeat their success, or does Johansen have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.