Baseball Game Preview: McLane Highlanders vs. Torres Toros

The McLane Highlanders will face off against the Torres Toros at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. McLane is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.3 runs per game this season.

Tuesday just wasn't the day for McLane's offense. They fell just short of Hoover by a score of 1-0 on Tuesday. The Highlanders haven't had much luck with the Patriots recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.

McLane saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Leland Flores, who went 2-for-3 with one double.

Even though they lost, McLane hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most four strikeouts in three consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Torres beat Coalinga 6-3 on Wednesday. The victory continues a trend for the Toros in their matchups with the Horned Toads: they've now won four in a row.

Matthew Escoto tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over six innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Torres is 2-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 1-7 otherwise.

On the hitting side, Torres let Alex Meza and Julian Valdez run wild. Meza scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4, while Valdez scored a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. That run was Valdez's first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Galindo, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI.

Torres' win bumped their record up to 3-8. As for McLane, they now have a losing record of 6-7.

McLane suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Torres in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will McLane have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.