Baseball Game Preview: Royal Highlanders vs. Yucaipa Thunderbirds

The Royal Highlanders will take on the Yucaipa Thunderbirds at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Royal sitting on three straight victories and Yucaipa on 11.

Royal is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They had just enough and edged out El Modena 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Highlanders have posted since April 15th.

Dustin Dunwoody got the start for Royal and what a start it was: he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. Dunwoody has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in 12 consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Royal saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Matthew Stout, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.

Paraclete typically has all the answers at home, but on Thursday Yucaipa proved too difficult a challenge. They skirted past the Spirits 4-2.

Yucaipa also got a great performance from Logan Pashman as he pitched 6.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off seven hits.

At the plate, Yucaipa let Damian Cordero and Xavier Romero run wild. Cordero went 1-for-4 with one triple and two RBI, while Romero went 2-for-3 with two runs. Yucaipa is 12-1 when Romero posts two or more runs, but 7-9 otherwise.

Royal's record now sits at 24-3-1. As for Yucaipa, their record is now 19-10.

Tuesday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Royal has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .449. However, it's not like Yucaipa struggles in that department as they've averaged .437. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.