The Santana Sultans will head out to take on the Steele Canyon Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, Santana was able to grind out a solid win over West Hills, taking the game 5-2.
Ryder Davey was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Trevor Eckis, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, Steele Canyon waltzed into their matchup on Tuesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They put the hurt on the Matadors with a sharp 15-5 victory.
Tommy Rimoldi made a big impact no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off three hits. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs. Steele Canyon is 6-1 when Rimoldi posts two or more runs, but 4-12 otherwise.
In other pitching news, Joey Riporti looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, Steele Canyon got a big performance out of Gavin Caha, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Caha has become a key player for the Cougars: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 6-13 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Colton Pigeon, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
Steele Canyon hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Santana is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-11 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Steele Canyon, their record is now 10-13.
Santana came out on top in a nail-biter against Steele Canyon when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Sultans since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
