Baseball Preview: El Capitan Vaqueros vs. Monte Vista Monarchs
El Capitan and Monte Vista are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2021, but likely not for long. The El Capitan Vaqueros will head out on the road to challenge the Monte Vista Monarchs at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. El Capitan's pitching crew has only allowed 3.5 runs per game this season, so Monte Vista's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
El Capitan is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Monte Vista just ended the team's four-game winning streak two weeks ago. They suffered a rough 8-1 defeat at the hands of the Monarchs. Having soared to a lofty 15 runs in the game before, El Capitan couldn't push the score so high this time.
For Monte Vista's part, Gavin Daley made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 13 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). Daley has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances. Daley was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Justyn Stone was incredible, scoring a run while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Niko Heidt, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
El Capitan's loss dropped their record down to 11-6. As for Monte Vista, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 12-5-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. El Capitan has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Monte Vista struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps