Baseball Game Preview: Saddleback Roadrunners vs. Magnolia Sentinels

For the second straight game, Saddleback will face off against Magnolia. The Roadrunners will head out on the road to square off against the Sentinels at 3:15 p.m. on Friday.

Saddleback is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Magnolia just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They wound up with the same score they had in their last game (8-3), but sadly the team found themselves on the wrong side of the score this time.

For Magnolia's part, Gabe Segura made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over seven innings pitched. Segura also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Magnolia is 3-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 5-9 otherwise. Segura was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double.

In other batting news, Santiago Cortez was excellent, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Jonathan Hernandez was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Magnolia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. They are 4-2 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Magnolia has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 8-10 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Saddleback, their loss dropped their record down to 12-10-1.

Magnolia's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Saddleback has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.9 hits per game. It's a different story for Magnolia, though, as they've been averaging 10.1 hits. Given Saddleback's sizable advantage in that area, the Sentinels will need to find a way to close that gap. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.