Baseball Game Preview: Escalon Cougars vs. Livingston Wolves

The Escalon Cougars will head out to take on the Livingston Wolves at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Escalon's pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Livingston's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Escalon barely beat Buhach Colony the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Everything went Escalon's way against Buhach Colony on Wednesday as Escalon made off with a 10-4 victory. The Cougars' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.

Ian Burk and Lorenzo Texeira were a major factor no matter where they played. Throwing, Burk struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits (and only one walk). Meanwhile, Texeira pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance gave him a new career-low in hits. At the plate, Burk scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3, while Texeira scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Texeira also put up a triple, which was his first of the season.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Josh Fiori, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Logan Huebner, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-4.

Meanwhile, Livingston was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They lost 10-2 to Chowchilla.

Escalon is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. Livingston's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.

Escalon was able to grind out a solid win over Livingston in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, winning 5-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Escalon since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.