Windsor is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Cardinal Newman is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Jaguars will host the Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Windsor 3.2, Cardinal Newman 2.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
While Windsor's victory against Ukiah wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Jaguars never let the Wildcats get on the board and left with a 1-0 win on Wednesday. The Jaguars haven't had any issues with the Wildcats recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Not much got past Adrian Rosiles, who gave up just five hits and racked up seven Ks to keep Ukiah off the board.
At the plate, Windsor's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Roman Torres, who went 1-for-2 with one double.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Cardinal Newman and Rancho Cotate meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Wednesday. The Cardinals were the clear victors by a 10-1 margin over the Cougars. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Cardinals considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Josh Jannicelli spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on three hits and racked up nine Ks. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Cardinal Newman is 9-3 when he allows at most one earned run, but 6-7 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Caden Owen was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Those two hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Chase Bromstad, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Cardinal Newman hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in six consecutive games.
Cardinal Newman has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Windsor, their win bumped their record up to 19-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Windsor has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Cardinal Newman struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Windsor came out on top in a nail-biter against Cardinal Newman in their previous meeting back in April, sneaking past 2-1. Will the Jaguars repeat their success, or do the Cardinals have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
