Baseball Recap: St. Francis Triumphs

While St. Francis's win against Soledad wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Sharks narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Aztecs 9-7. The Sharks haven't had any issues with the Aztecs recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.

Nicky Fantl was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over 5.2 innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. He has become a key player for St. Francis: the team is 5-2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 2-13 otherwise.

In other batting news, Angelo Urabe Chavez was excellent, going 2-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. St. Francis is 3-1 when Urabe Chavez posts two or more runs, but 4-14-1 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Magana, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI.

St. Francis' record is now 7-15-1. As for Soledad, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost six of their last seven matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 8-14-1 record this season.

St. Francis and Soledad could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps California Rankings. The Sharks (ranked 689th) will meet Hollister (ranked 308th) at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Soledad will square off against Carmel at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday with a big rank disadvantage (766 vs. 218).