Baseball Game Preview: Redwood Giants vs. Saint Francis Lancers

The Redwood Giants will challenge the Saint Francis Lancers at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Redwood 3.4, Saint Francis 1.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.

On Friday, Redwood came up short against Tamalpais and fell 5-1. The Giants have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Matthew Knauer was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over six innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits.

At the plate, Redwood saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Sam Gersch, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases.

Meanwhile, Saint Francis waltzed into their game on Friday with five straight wins... but they left with six. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Wildcats a 2-0 shutout.

Saint Francis also got a great performance from Nick Chow as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts Chow has posted since back in February.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Henry Dommer, who went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and two runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Hudson Watten was another key player, earning two RBI and one stolen base.

Saint Francis' victory was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 16-4. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Redwood, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-8-1.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Redwood has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Saint Francis struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.