Patriot is 2-8 against Hillcrest since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Patriot Warriors will look to defend their home field against the Hillcrest Trojans at 3:15 p.m. Patriot's pitching crew has only allowed 3.4 runs per game this season, so Hillcrest's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
On Tuesday, Patriot didn't have quite enough to beat Hillcrest and fell 3-2.
Javier Tinoco was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He pitched 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off nine hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Tinoco has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances. Tinoco was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-3 with a double.
Tinoco wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Joshua Madrigal, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Patriot's loss dropped their record down to 3-7-1. As for Hillcrest, their win ended a seven-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-11-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Patriot has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Hillcrest struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 per game. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. 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
