The Fountain Valley Barons will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the Capistrano Valley Cougars at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Fountain Valley is coming home in high spirits after they had to open their season on the road against Dana Hills. Fountain Valley put the hurt on Dana Hills with a sharp 10-1 victory on Tuesday.
Josh Grack was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Grack was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Those two runs gave him a new career-high.
In other pitching news, Billy Kutsch looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Tyler Peshke, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Mikey Patterson, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last matchup, Capistrano Valley made sure to put some runs up on the board against Costa Mesa on Monday. Capistrano Valley was the clear victors by a 10-1 margin over Costa Mesa. Considering the Cougars' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Broady Hinrichsen looked comfortable as he tossed 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
On the hitting side, Charlie Fuller and Sammy Rucker did most of the damage at the plate: Fuller scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Rucker scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Rucker also hit two doubles, marking his first of the season. JT Flores was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
Fountain Valley skirted past Capistrano Valley 4-3 in their previous matchup back in March of 2016. Does Fountain Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Capistrano Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
