Baseball Game Preview: Centennial Huskies vs. Corona Panthers

For the second straight game, Centennial will face off against Corona. The Huskies will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Panthers at 4:00 p.m.

Centennial is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of California's top teams: Corona, who was ranked first at the time (Centennial was ranked 19th). The Huskies lost 11-2 to the Panthers on Tuesday. The defeat continues a trend for the Huskies in their meetings with the Panthers: they've now lost six in a row.

For Corona's part, Ethin Bingaman was a major factor no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over four innings pitched. Bingaman has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double.

In other batting news, Anthony Murphy was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Jesiah Andrade, who went 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Corona was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Centennial only posted a batting average of .231.

The win made it two in a row for Corona and bumps their season record up to 21-2. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 17.0 runs over those games. As for Centennial, their loss dropped their record down to 15-6.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Centennial has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Corona struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.