The St. Mary's Rams will challenge the Central Valley Hawks at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (St. Mary's 2.6, Central Valley 2.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
St. Mary's is returning to their home field after beating Lodi on theirs, despite the fact Lodi has dominated at home this season. The Rams put the hurt on the Flames with a sharp 10-1 win on Thursday. The result was nothing new for the Rams, who have now won 13 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Alex Escalante was excellent, going 2-for-4 with three runs and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Brady Errecart, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Central Valley had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They came out on top against Franklin by a score of 8-3 on Monday. Winning may never get old, but the Hawks sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Chris Garcia made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits (and only one walk). Garcia was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one triple. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.
Garcia wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Ezequiel Verduzco, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Andre Flores was another, going 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Central Valley pushed their record up to 21-8 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for St. Mary's, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 21-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Mary's has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Central Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
