Calallen has won six straight games at home, while China Spring has won six straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Wildcats will welcome the Cougars at 2:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Calallen 1.4, China Spring 2.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Calallen is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Tuloso-Midway a 1-0 shutout. The one-run effort marked the Wildcats' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Drayton Mitchell made a big impact no matter where he played. He tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Mitchell was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-5 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Calallen got a great performance from Collier Carroll as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over nine innings pitched. Carroll has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Drayson Gamez, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, China Spring got the win against Lumberton on Friday by a conclusive 9-0. Considering the Cougars have won 21 contests by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Calallen, China Spring also got a great game from a two-way player: Jackson Fetters. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Fetters was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with three RBI and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Jacob Klement was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Dean Hannah, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
China Spring kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 11 hits in four consecutive games.
China Spring is on a roll lately: they've won 26 of their last 27 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 35-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.4 runs over those games. As for Calallen, their victory bumped their record up to 32-2.
Everything went Calallen's way against China Spring in their previous meeting back in March of 2022, as Calallen made off with a 9-0 win. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cougars turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
