The Saint Francis Lancers will head out to challenge the Menlo-Atherton Bears at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The last five games Saint Francis has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
On Friday, Saint Francis needed a bit of extra time to put away Mountain View. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over the Spartans. The victory continues a trend for the Lancers in their matchups with the Spartans: they've now won three in a row.
Brody Larocque looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jack Leeper, who scored a run and stole Three bases. while going 1-for-3. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 1.2 stolen bases per game. Tanner Wall also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Menlo-Atherton). Everything went their way against Live Oak on Thursday as Menlo-Atherton made off with a 12-2 win. The victory was familiar territory for the Bears, who have now won four matches in a row.
Menlo-Atherton also got a great performance from Anthony Kabrich as he tossed 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits.
At the plate, Jimmy Zaharias was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Merrick Lee was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Menlo-Atherton was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .419. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Saint Francis' win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Menlo-Atherton, their record now sits at 4-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Saint Francis has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Menlo-Atherton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Saint Francis' way against Menlo-Atherton when the teams last played back in February of 2024, as Saint Francis made off with an 11-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Saint Francis since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
