Baseball Game Preview: Merced Bears vs. El Capitan Gauchos

For the second straight game, Merced will face off against El Capitan. The Bears will welcome the Gauchos at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Merced is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak.

On Wednesday, Merced came up short against El Capitan and fell 8-3.

For El Capitan's part, Camden Peterson made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, Peterson posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.

In other batting news, Cade Ivy was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one triple. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season. Jesse Saucedo was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.

El Capitan was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .423. They are a perfect 8-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

El Capitan's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-9-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for Merced, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-18.