Preview: Nipomo Titans vs. Arroyo Grande Eagles
Nipomo is 0-6 against Arroyo Grande since April of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Nipomo Titans will look to defend their home field against the Arroyo Grande Eagles at 11:00 a.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Nipomo entered their tilt with Templeton with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Everything went their way against the Eagles on Tuesday as they made off with a 10-1 win.
Ty Bernal was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits over four innings pitched. Bernal has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances. Bernal was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
In other batting news, Nipomo got a massive performance out of Aden Willis, who scored four runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Willis is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. Another player making a difference was Austin Jones, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, the third road contest was the charm for Arroyo Grande, as they earned their first road win of the season. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Atascadero on Friday and snuck past 3-2.
Tanner Bournonville spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on four hits.
On the hitting side, Arroyo Grande's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Tane Kurth, who scored a run while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of James Bishop, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Nipomo pushed their record up to 4-6 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs per game. As for Arroyo Grande, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a massive bump to their 6-7 record this season.
Nipomo came up short against Arroyo Grande in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, falling 4-0. Thankfully for Nipomo, Bret Pinkerton (who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also only allowed one walk)) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
