The Central Valley Hawks will face off against the Grace Davis Spartans at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Central Valley will be strutting in after a victory while Grace Davis will be coming in after a loss.
Central Valley was handed a heart-breaking two-run defeat in their last match, but they sure didn't let that happen against Golden Valley on Thursday. The Hawks' pitcher stepped up to hand the Cougars a 10-0 shutout. The Hawks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten contests by seven runs or more this season.
Nicholas Dominguez tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit over six innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Caden Mendonca was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Whitworth, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Grace Davis didn't have quite enough to beat Orland on Thursday and fell 5-4. The Spartans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Logan Ariza made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 3-for-3 with four stolen bases, one run, and one double. He is becoming a predictor of Grace Davis' success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 8-4 (and 5-7 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Armando Villegas, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Central Valley is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Grace Davis, their loss dropped their record down to 13-11.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Central Valley has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Grace Davis struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 5.5 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Central Valley took their victory against Grace Davis in their previous matchup back in April of 2019 by a conclusive 11-1 score. Will the Hawks repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
