The El Diamante Miners will square off against the Porterville Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The last five games El Diamante has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
The home team had won the previous three meetings between El Diamante and Mt. Whitney, and Mt. Whitney kept the tradition alive. The Miners might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 4-3 to the Pioneers, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.
Meanwhile, Porterville can bid farewell to their six-game losing streak thanks to their game on Thursday. They walked away with a 10-5 win over Golden West.
Jacoby Roman and Gio Perez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Roman struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. Meanwhile, Perez pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those six strikeouts gave Roman a new career-high. At the plate, Roman got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI, while Perez got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those runs marked the first that Perez has scored this season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Valentin Nunez, who went 1-for-3 with four RBI and one double. Eric Shiers was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Porterville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .595. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
El Diamante has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost eight of their last ten games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 9-14-1 record this season. As for Porterville, their victory bumped their record up to 7-18.
Everything went El Diamante's way against Porterville in their previous meeting back in April, as El Diamante made off with a 6-0 win. Do the Miners have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Panthers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
