Baseball Game Preview: Santa Cruz Cardinals vs. Scotts Valley Falcons

For the second straight game, Santa Cruz will face off against Scotts Valley. The Cardinals will take on the Falcons at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Santa Cruz has struggled recently with six defeats in a row, while Scotts Valley will arrive with three straight victories.

Scotts Valley hit Santa Cruz with a four-run fifth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Cardinals lost 14-2 to the Falcons.

For Scotts Valley's part, Kaleb Wing made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. Wing has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, one run, and one double. He has become a key player for Scotts Valley: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three hits, but 7-10 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Owen Martin, who got on base in five of his six plate appearances with three RBI and two runs. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Lukas Bloom was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Scotts Valley kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive games.

The win got Scotts Valley back to even at 10-10. As for Santa Cruz, their loss dropped their record down to an identical 10-10.