The Orange Cove Titans will head out on the road to square off against the Woodlake Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Orange Cove is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8 runs per game this season.
Orange Cove is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top against Corcoran by a score of 5-1.
Alan Hernandez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered one run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Josiah Guerra was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-3. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played. Roger Torres was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Woodlake, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Wednesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Delano a 4-0 shutout on Tuesday.
The result came thanks to Ismael Pena's shutout, as he gave up just one hit.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Vincent Duran, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Orange Cove's victory was their tenth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-8. As for Woodlake, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 16 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 20-8 record this season.
Thursday's match will be a test for both team's pitchers. Orange Cove hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .330. However, it's not like Woodlake struggles in that department as they've averaged .398. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Orange Cove might still be hurting after the 13-6 loss they got from Woodlake in their previous meeting back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Pena, who scored four runs while going 5-for-5. Now that Orange Cove knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps