The St. Vincent de Paul Mustangs will take on the Point Arena Pirates at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. St. Vincent de Paul has given up an average of 9.4 runs per game this season, but Wednesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
St. Vincent de Paul lost 11-5 to Montgomery on Friday. The Mustangs haven't had much luck with the Vikings recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
St. Vincent de Paul saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cameron Boutilier, who went 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI. Harrison Barley was another, going 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Point Arena had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 runs) and they went ahead and made it nine on Friday. They came out on top against the Lions by a score of 11-6. Point Arena's victory was all the more impressive since the Lions were averaging only 2.89 runs allowed on the season.
Jose Bernal was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 11 batters over 5.1 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off 11 hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and three runs.
In other batting news, Point Arena let Mateo VanCleave and Jimmy Owens run wild. VanCleave went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run, while Owens got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Owens has become a key player for Point Arena: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-4 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Fernando Lopez, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Point Arena's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.2 runs over those games. As for St. Vincent de Paul, their loss dropped their record down to 4-19.
St. Vincent de Paul took their win against Point Arena in their previous matchup back in April of 2019 by a conclusive 10-0 score. Do the Mustangs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Pirates turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
