The Mt. Whitney Pioneers will be taking part in a tournament against the Mission Oak Hawks at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Mt. Whitney has struggled recently with seven defeats in a row, while Mission Oak will arrive with seven straight victories.
Mt. Whitney had taken Tulare Western down for two straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Monday. The Pioneers fell just short of the Mustangs by a score of 8-6.
Sawyer Sowers put in work no matter where he played. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Sowers was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Sowers wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Matteo Zuniga, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Another was Orson Gonzales, who scored a run while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mission Oak). Everything went their way against Golden West on Monday as they made off with a 17-3 win. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Nick Retiz was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI, three runs, and one triple. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. Gage Hastin was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with five RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Mission Oak always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .647. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Mt. Whitney's loss dropped their record down to 4-14. As for Mission Oak, their win bumped their record up to 9-7-1.
Mt. Whitney was able to grind out a solid victory over Mission Oak in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, winning 3-0. Will the Pioneers repeat their success, or do the Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
