Antioch hasn't had much luck against Pittsburg recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Panthers will challenge the Pirates at 4:00 p.m.
Things were looking good for Antioch after they put the first run on the board on Thursday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They came up short against Heritage, falling 7-1. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Antioch saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jaxon Connelly, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pittsburg). Their pitchers stepped up to hand Deer Valley a 20-0 shutout on Thursday. With that win, the Pirates brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Ty Thompson was a major factor no matter where he played. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, getting on base in four of his six plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
In other pitching news, Desmond Toomer looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, Diego Deluna was a standout: he got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Paul Salazar, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and one stolen base.
Pittsburg always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .612. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The victory made it two in a row for Pittsburg and bumps their season record up to 17-5. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 18.0 runs over those games. As for Antioch, their loss dropped their record down to 8-14.
Antioch suffered a grim 14-2 defeat to Pittsburg when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
