Preview: Rock Academy Warriors vs. Hoover Cardinals
The Rock Academy Warriors will head out on the road to take on the Hoover Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Rock Academy is no doubt hoping to put an end to a seven-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Rock Academy scored the most runs they've had all season to find success last Thursday. They put the hurt on Victory Christian Academy with a sharp 22-1 win.
Diego Munoz made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over six innings pitched. Munoz was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-5.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Quentin Uhland, who went 2-for-6 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Super Akins was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Hoover suffered a rough 10-4 loss at the hands of Crawford on Thursday. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Hoover in their matchups with Crawford: they've now lost three in a row.
Like Rock Academy, Hoover also got a great game from a two-way player: Kristian Noriega. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over 4.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and five unearned) runs off four hits. Noriega was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Lucian Hura was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base, two RBI, and a double.
Even though they lost, Hoover didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 14 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Crawford only tossed nine.
The victory got Rock Academy back to even at 2-2. As for Hoover, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
Hoover's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Rock Academy has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .507. It's a different story for Hoover, though, as they've only averaged .295. Will they be able to contain Rock Academy's hitters?
Rock Academy came out on top in a nail-biter against Hoover in their previous meeting back in June of 2021, sneaking past 3-1. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Hoover's Jimmy Roman, who struck out 12 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. Now that he won't be playing on Monday, will it be that much easier for Rock Academy to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
