The Del Mar Dons will square off against the Mt. Pleasant Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Gunderson hit Del Mar with a four-run fourth inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Dons took an 8-5 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Grizzlies. Dons fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team has lost against the Grizzlies since Thursday.
Mason William made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. Brandon Avery was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Mt. Pleasant had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the 76ers an 11-0 shutout. Considering the Cardinals have won seven contests by more than seven runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Michael Blanco made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over four innings pitched. He has become a key player for Mt. Pleasant: the team is 4-1 when he allows at most two hits, but 6-7 otherwise. Blanco was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Victor Cantabrana, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Vincent Salcido, who went 1-for-4 with one triple and two RBI.
Del Mar's loss dropped their record down to 10-8. As for Mt. Pleasant, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 10-8.
Del Mar got the 'W' when the teams last played back in May of 2023 against Mt. Pleasant by a conclusive 18-4 score. Do the Dons have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cardinals turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
