The Yucaipa Thunderbirds will square off against the Kaiser Cats at 3:15 p.m. on Friday. Yucaipa's hitters haven't had much luck over their past three contests, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Yucaipa fell victim to Temecula Valley and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Golden Bears.
Yucaipa saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jake White, who went 2-for-3 with one double. That double was White's first of the season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Kaiser, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They walked away with an 8-4 win over Apple Valley on Wednesday.
Roman Hernandez looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April of 2025.
On the hitting side, Gabriel Martinez was excellent, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Issac Estrada was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Kaiser always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .562. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Kaiser pushed their record up to 4-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.4 runs over those games. As for Yucaipa, they now have a losing record of 3-4.
