Baseball Preview: Del Mar Dons vs. Piedmont Hills Pirates
Del Mar is 1-9 against Piedmont Hills since March of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Del Mar Dons will head out on the road to challenge the Piedmont Hills Pirates at 4:00 p.m.
Del Mar fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Lincoln on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 7-3 to the Lions.
Kyle McClements was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He tossed seven innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits. McClements has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances. McClements was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
McClements wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jalen Winters, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Piedmont Hills stacked a ninth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Gunderson as Piedmont Hills made off with a 16-7 win.
Like Del Mar, Piedmont Hills also got a great game from a two-way player: Josh Gomez. Throwing, Gomez pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Toby Torres tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. At the plate, Gomez scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5, while Torres scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Diego Martinez, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and a triple. Gabriel Badillo was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-5.
Del Mar's defeat dropped their record down to 8-13. As for Piedmont Hills, they are on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 17 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Del Mar has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Piedmont Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Del Mar might still be hurting after the 20-2 loss they got from Piedmont Hills in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Del Mar, Nico Negrete (who scored five runs and stole three bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
