The Rio Mesa Spartans will head out to face off against the Santa Paula Cardinals at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The last three games Rio Mesa has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Rio Mesa took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Dos Pueblos, sneaking past 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Spartans have posted since February 24th.
Daniel Puebla tossed a big game, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits.
On the hitting side, Rio Mesa saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Josh Cardenas, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. Daniel Banuelos also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Rio Mesa hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Santa Paula put their dominant pitchers on display in the team's fifth consecutive shutout on Friday. They put the hurt on Fillmore with a sharp 6-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Cardinals in their matchups with the Flashes: they've now won five in a row.
Santa Paula also got a great performance from Santiago Ramirez as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Ramirez has become a key player for the Cardinals: the team is 4-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 7-8 otherwise.
At the plate, Isaak Medina was incredible, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. Ruben Venegas was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Rio Mesa's record is now 4-14-1. As for Santa Paula, their record now sits at 11-9.
Rio Mesa came out on top in a nail-biter against Santa Paula when the teams last played back in February, sneaking past 4-3. Will the Spartans repeat their success, or do the Cardinals have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
