Baseball Preview: Villa Park Spartans vs. Huntington Beach Oilers
The Villa Park Spartans will be playing at home against the Huntington Beach Oilers at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Villa Park: 1.9, Huntington Beach: 2.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Villa Park is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They walked away with a 6-1 victory over Bishop Amat. Winning may never get old, but Villa Park sure is getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Justin Tims spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up nine Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than seven innings in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Gunner Santillo, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a double. Shawn Romero was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last match, Huntington Beach made sure to put some runs up on the board against Santiago on Friday. Huntington Beach blew past Santiago 11-2.
Nathan Aceves looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Matt Hansen, who went 2-for-2 with a home run, five RBI, and three runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Trevor Goldenetz, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Villa Park is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 18-11 record this season. As for Huntington Beach, their win bumped their record up to 21-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Villa Park has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Huntington Beach struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Villa Park came out on top in a nail-biter against Huntington Beach when the teams last played back in May of 2023, sneaking past 2-1. Does Villa Park have another victory up their sleeve, or will Huntington Beach turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
