For the second straight game, Otay Ranch will face off against Mater Dei Catholic. The Mustangs will be playing at home against the Crusaders at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are headed into the matchup with plenty of momentum (Otay Ranch has won six straight at home, while Mater Dei Catholic won three straight on the road), something that'll have to change.
On Wednesday, Otay Ranch didn't have quite enough to beat Mater Dei Catholic and fell 4-3.
For Mater Dei Catholic's part, Xavier Castro looked comfortable as he pitched 2.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. The Crusaders are 4-2 when Castro allows three or fewer hits, but 6-11 otherwise.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Joey Castillo, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of Mater Dei Catholic's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 6-13 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Cook, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base.
Mater Dei Catholic has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-13 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Otay Ranch, their loss dropped their record down to 16-7.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
