The Calexico Bulldogs will square off against the Escondido Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Escondido will challenge a team with plenty of momentum: Calexico extended their winning streak to three on Friday. The Bulldogs never let Mission Bay get on the board and left with a 7-0 win.
Calexico got a great performance from David Lara as he didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. Lara has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kenneth Calderon, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, one double, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Randy Baez, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Escondido had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They put the hurt on Mission Bay with a sharp 12-2 victory on Saturday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cougars.
Kaden Hermsen and Ryder Taylor were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Hermsen pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Taylor pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. At the plate, Hermsen got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI, while Taylor went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Escondido got a massive performance out of Andrew Carrilo, who went 3-for-5 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Makaih Gonzalez, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base.
Escondido kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mission Bay only managed eight hits.
Calexico's win bumped their record up to 22-4-1. As for Escondido, their victory bumped their record up to 22-8.
