The Delano Tigers will venture away from home to take on the Southwest Christian Stars at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Delano 3.6, Southwest Christian 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Southwest Christian will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Delano extended their winning streak to three on Thursday. The Tigers walked away with a 10-5 victory over Jordan. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last six times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
The team relied heavily on Brody Geislinger, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Issac Vervais also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Southwest Christian). They were the clear victors by a 27-0 margin over Blake on Monday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Stars with their most commanding win of the season.
Jack Manion looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Melvin Maldonado was incredible, firing off three home runs, 13 RBI, and four runs while going 5-for-5. The team also got some help courtesy of Cruz Winegarden, who went 5-for-6 with three RBI and two runs.
Southwest Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .692. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Southwest Christian pushed their record up to 11-5 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Delano, their record is now 9-3.
Delano couldn't quite get it done against Southwest Christian when the teams last played back in April as they fell 6-3. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
