Central Valley had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 2.5 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Merced Bears and snuck past 5-4. That's two games straight that Central Valley has won by just one run.
Central Valley saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Chris Garcia, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. Garcia has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On Merced's side, Riley Dickey was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he tossed six innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Dickey was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Central Valley's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 13-13. As for Merced, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 11-12.
Central Valley will look to defend their home field on Tuesday against Buhach Colony at 4:00 p.m. Buhach Colony is coming into the matchup with ten straight defeats on the road, meaning Central Valley will have to defend against a team hungry for a victory. As for Merced, they will face off against Golden Valley at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The last four games Merced has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
