Baseball Game Preview: Concord Bears vs. Kennedy Titans

The Concord Bears are taking a road trip to take on the Kennedy Titans at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Concord's pitching crew has only allowed 2.7 runs per game this season, so Kennedy's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Concord gave up the first runs on Tuesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They walked away with a 5-1 win over Hayward. The victory continues a trend for the Bears in their matchups with the Farmers: they've now won six in a row.

Max Dashner made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out six over seven innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Concord is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-2 otherwise. Dashner was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.

Dashner wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Tony Hoshida, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Concord hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in five consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Kennedy made sure to put some runs up on the board against Deer Valley on Tuesday. Kennedy was the clear victors by a 16-2 margin over Deer Valley. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Titans' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.

The team relied heavily on Nolan Francis, who scored three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Nick Owsley, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and one double.

The win got Kennedy back to even at 4-4. As for Concord, their record now sits at 4-2.

Concord came up short against Kennedy when the teams last played back in March of 2016, falling 7-2. Can Concord avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.