Paso Robles hasn't had much luck against Arroyo Grande recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Bearcats will square off against the Eagles at 4:30 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Paso Robles is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Sierra Pacific 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Bearcats have posted since April 9th.
Nate Contreras spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits.
On the hitting side, Marcus Garcia was excellent, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Emmett Dobroth, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Arroyo Grande ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They had just enough and edged out Kerman 8-7. The win was familiar territory for the Eagles, who have now won eight games in a row.
Grady Pope tossed a big game, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Brock Paz, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI. Colton Gotchal was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with one stolen base.
Arroyo Grande kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive contests.
The victory got Paso Robles back to even at 13-13-1. As for Arroyo Grande, their record is now 22-8.