Ukiah is 1-9 against Cardinal Newman since May of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. A feisty cat fight will be fought as Ukiah Wildcats challenge Cardinal Newman Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. Ukiah will be coming into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.
Ukiah is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Santa Rosa with a sharp 11-1 win on Saturday. Considering the Wildcats have won three matchups by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
George Gibbs made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Gibbs was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
In other pitching news, Jaxon Mellus looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Kamble Koch, who went 1-for-2 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI. That triple marked the first that he hit this season. Another player making a difference was Brayden Beebe, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Newman came up short against Granada on Saturday and fell 4-1.
Cardinal Newman saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jamie Vozaitis, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Ukiah pushed their record up to 5-0 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.1 runs over those games. As for Cardinal Newman, they now have a losing record of 1-2.
Cardinal Newman's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Ukiah has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .452. It's a different story for Cardinal Newman, though, as they've only averaged .333. Will they be able to contain Ukiah's hitters?
Ukiah couldn't quite get it done against Cardinal Newman when the teams last played back in May of 2024 as they fell 5-1. Can Ukiah avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
