If Coalinga was riding high off their 18-3 takedown of Avenal last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Coalinga Horned Toads fell 8-5 to the Mendota Aztecs on Tuesday. Coalinga has not had much luck with Mendota recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Drake "Swish" Stevens made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI, and a run. Another player making a difference was Luke Wojewoda, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
On Mendota's side, Brandon Lopez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and three unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up 14 Ks.
At the plate, Michael Viramontez was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Paul Ochoa, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Coalinga's loss dropped their record down to 6-21. As for Mendota, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-12 record this season.
Coalinga will be playing at home against Firebaugh at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Coalinga has given up an average of 6.7 runs per game this season, so hopefully the team got some pitching drills in this week. As for Mendota, they will head out on the road to square off against Dos Palos at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Dos Palos is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.8 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
