Preview: Palo Alto Vikings vs. Central Catholic Raiders
The Palo Alto Vikings will face off against the Central Catholic Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Palo Alto is no doubt hoping to put an end to a seven-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Last Friday, it was a hard-fought match, but Palo Alto had to settle for a 4-3 loss against Los Gatos.
Nate Donaker was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched.
At the plate, Dexter Cleveringa made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, after an 11-10 finish the last time they played, Central Catholic and Oakdale decided to play a little more cautiously this time around. Central Catholic never let Oakdale onto the board and left with a 3-0 victory on Friday.
Oakdale's batters probably weren't too happy with TP Wentworth, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 14 Ks (he gave up a single walk).
On the hitting side, Central Catholic saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Adrian Garcia, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Palo Alto's defeat dropped their record down to 3-6. As for Central Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 6-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Palo Alto has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Central Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 per game. 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.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
