Baseball Preview: Wheatland Pirates vs. Oakdale Mustangs
The Wheatland Pirates will head out on the road to take on the Oakdale Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Wheatland will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.
Wheatland put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They put the hurt on Marysville with a sharp 13-3 win. While fans of Wheatland might be used to big wins, the ten-run margin marked the team's biggest victory yet this season.
Joshua Shackelford made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. Shackelford has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Shackelford was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Joshua Rivera and AJ Saldana did most of the damage at the plate: Rivera scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances, while Saldana went 2-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and a double. Rivera is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played. Kale Nakamura was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 4-for-4.
Meanwhile, Oakdale came up short against Manteca on Thursday and fell 6-3. Oakdale has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Oakdale also got a good showing from Ayden Ardis, who tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off five hits (he also didn't allow any walks).
At the plate, Glen Weber was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Reid Grandstaff, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with an RBI.
Even though they lost, Oakdale hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Wheatland pushed their record up to 11-2 with that win, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.6 runs per game. As for Oakdale, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-4.
Wheatland's speedy runners might be the difference in Monday's matchup. Wheatland has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Oakdale, though, as they've been averaging only 1.3. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Wheatland continue to outrun the ball?
Everything went Wheatland's way against Oakdale in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 as Wheatland made off with an 11-5 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Oakdale's Donovan Johnson, who went 3-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and a double. Now that he won't be playing on Monday, will it be that much easier for Wheatland to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
