Foresthill is 1-7 against Valley Christian since May of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Foresthill Wildfires will be playing in front of their home fans against the Valley Christian Lions at 4:30 p.m. Both teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
After low-scoring totals in their previous three contests, Foresthill brought some dynamite into their most recent match. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Encina Prep a 27-0 shutout on Thursday. With that win, Foresthill brought their scoring average up to 6.5 runs per game.
Cooper Stanowicz was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Stanowicz was also big at the plate, scoring four runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Hunter Byrum, who scored five runs and stole four bases while getting on base in five of his six plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Travis Pisarek, who scored three runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, in what's become a running theme this season, Valley Christian gave their fans yet another huge victory on Thursday. They blew past Cordova 16-5. The win was familiar territory for Valley Christian who now have three in a row.
Like Foresthill, Valley Christian also got a great game from a two-way player: Nathan Erickson. He struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up four earned runs off five hits. Erickson was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all six of his plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and a double.
In other batting news, Jeremiah Pritchard was a standout: he scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in five of his six plate appearances. Josh Yuen was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in five of his six plate appearances.
Foresthill's victory bumped their record up to 2-9. As for Valley Christian, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Foresthill has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 6.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Valley Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.2. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Foresthill suffered a grim 6-0 defeat to Valley Christian in their previous meeting back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Valley Christian's Nick Befort, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Now that Foresthill knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
