The Burlingame Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Menlo-Atherton Bears at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Burlingame took a 11-run loss the last time they faced off against Santa Cruz, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Panthers came out on top in a nail-biter against the Cardinals on Saturday, sneaking past 8-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Panthers have posted since April 5th.
Burlingame let Liam Philibosian and Slade Flores run wild. Philibosian went 1-for-3 with one home run, while Flores went 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most hits Flores has posted since back in March. Rodrigo Beltranena was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Menlo-Atherton and King's Academy meet (six straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Bears came out on top against the Knights by a score of 5-4 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game).
Jimmy Zaharias made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched 1.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one home run.
In other pitching news, Wes Peterson looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Ryder Kelly, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Gianni Olivero, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Menlo-Atherton has been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 14 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-7 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.6 runs over those games. As for Burlingame, their record is now 10-12.
