The Sheldon Huskies are headed away from home for the first time to take on the Kennedy Cougars at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.
Sheldon easily dispatched West Campus last Wednesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. Sheldon fell just short of Burbank by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday. Having soared to a lofty 12 runs in the game before, the Huskies couldn't push the score so high this time.
Kameron Lirio was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Lirio was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases.
Lirio wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Lucas Xiong, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases. The dominant performance gave Xiong a new career-high in stolen bases. Jaren Azores was another, getting on base in two of his three plate appearances with two stolen bases.
Meanwhile, the third road game was the charm for Kennedy, as they earned their first road win of the season. They put the hurt on West Campus with a sharp 11-1 win on Saturday. The victory continues a trend for the Cougars in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now won three in a row.
Like Sheldon, Kennedy also got a great game from a two-way player: Tony Pedroza. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run but no hits. Pedroza has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Kennedy let Jackson Brooks and Laney Fukuoka run wild. Brooks scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances, while Fukuoka scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Rice-Granderson, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-4.
Kennedy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matchups.
Kennedy's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-3. As for Sheldon, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-1.
Sheldon came out on top in a nail-biter against Kennedy in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sheldon since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
