The De Leon Bearcats are taking a road trip to face off against the Winters Blizzards at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
De Leon will bounce into Monday's game after beating Coleman, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Bearcats skirted past the Bluecats 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Bearcats have posted against the Bluecats since March 23, 2021.
Brenner Wright spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on eight hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Trenton Zmeskal, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season. Andrew Coan was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Winters, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 victory over Cisco on Friday. The win was some much needed relief for the Blizzards as it spelled an end to their seven-game losing streak.
Winters also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Diego Rodriguez gave up three earned runs on five hits and racked up 11 Ks. Rodriguez has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Winters' victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Will Dunham, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI.
The win made it two in a row for De Leon and bumps their season record up to 12-7-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 5 runs in those games. As for Winters, they now have a winning record of 8-7-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. De Leon has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Winters struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
De Leon took their win against Winters in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 13-3 score. Will the Bearcats repeat their success, or do the Blizzards have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
