The Ceres Bulldogs will take on the Pacheco Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ceres will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.
Ceres is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Lathrop a 16-0 shutout on Thursday. Give the Bulldogs' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
The team relied heavily on Aiden Maines, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. What's more, he posted three RBI, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. Isaac Moreno was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Ceres hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lathrop struck out six times.
Pacheco not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since March 13, 2024. They blew past Johansen 15-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Panthers.
Aidan Pikas and Tucker Kim made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Pikas tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Meanwhile, Kim tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Pacheco is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 2-6 otherwise. At bat, Pikas scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Kim went 1-for-2 with four RBI and one run. Pikas has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, Zealand Hatcher was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. Pacheco is undefeated when Hatcher posts two or more runs, but 0-7 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Jonathan Shyrock, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
Ceres' victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-3. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Pacheco, they picked up their first home victory, bumping their record up to 4-7.
Everything went Ceres' way against Pacheco when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Ceres made off with a 9-2 win. Does Ceres have another victory up their sleeve, or will Pacheco turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
