Baseball Game Preview: Mathis Pirates vs. West Oso Bears

Mathis and West Oso are an even 3-3 against one another since February of 2017, but likely not for long. The Pirates will look to defend their home field on Tuesday against the Bears at 6:30 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Mathis took a eight-run defeat the last time they faced off against George West, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Pirates had just enough and edged out the Longhorns 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Pirates have posted against the Longhorns since April 9, 2021.

Duke Bernal

Stolen Base

03/03/25 vs Santa Gertrudis Academy	3
02/27/25 @ Ben Bolt	3
04/17/25 @ George West	2
04/11/25 vs Aransas Pass	2
04/01/25 vs George West	1
+ 1 more games

Duke Bernal made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and two stolen bases. He has become a key player for Mathis: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 5-13 otherwise.

Meanwhile, West Oso came tearing into Thursday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Owls by a score of 7-2.

Julian Garcia spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits and racked up six Ks.

On the hitting side, West Oso saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jaime Guerrero, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI. Another was Isaiah Galvan, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI and one stolen base.

Mathis is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 8-14 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for West Oso, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-8.

Mathis beat West Oso 8-4 in their previous matchup two weeks ago. Do the Pirates have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bears turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.