The Sierra Grande Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Custer County Bobcats at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Sierra Grande has three straight wins, Custer County has eight straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Sierra Grande put the finishing touches on their third blowout victory of the season on Friday. They blew past Manzanola 21-4.
Patrick Sanchez made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off only two hits. Sanchez was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. Sanchez is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's stolen at least one every time he's taken the field this season.
In other batting news, Sierra Grande got a massive performance out of Kobe Mizokami, who scored four runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Mizokami is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's stolen at least three every time he's taken the field this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brian Ontiveros, who scored four runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Custer County scored the most runs they've had all season on Saturday, but it wasn't enough. They fell just short of South Park by a score of 21-20. Both teams can probably skip cardio this week after making that many trips around the bases.
Like Sierra Grande, Custer County also got a great game from a two-way player: Grant Rusk. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over 4.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and five unearned) runs off four hits. Rusk was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring five runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, Wyatt Grundy made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored four runs and stole six bases while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Lucas Sacristan, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Even though they lost, Custer County kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Sierra Grande's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0. Those good results were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 17.3 runs per game. As for Custer County, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.
Custer County's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Sierra Grande hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .420. It's a different story for Custer County, though, as they've only averaged .247. Will they be able to contain Sierra Grande's hitters? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
