The Hemet Bulldogs will head out to face off against the JW North Huskies at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. Hemet is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak.
The home team had come away the winner the last six times Hemet and Citrus Hill had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Bulldogs fell just short of the Hawks by a score of 5-4 on Wednesday.
Hemet saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jack Mapstead, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask JW North). Everything went their way against Orange Vista on Tuesday as they made off with a 9-3 win. The Huskies not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since March 18th (when they won 8-1).
Jason Anderson made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Nicolas Zepeda was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with five stolen bases, three RBI, and one run. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Zepeda, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.
JW North kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive matchups.
JW North has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a massive bump to their 5-14-1 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Hemet, their loss dropped their record down to 8-13.
Hemet took their win against JW North in their previous matchup back in March by a conclusive 10-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bulldogs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
