Katella has won six straight games at home, while Kennedy has won six straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Knights will welcome the Fighting Irish at 3:15 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Katella 3.1, Kennedy 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Tuesday, Katella got the win against Buena Park by a conclusive 8-2. Considering the Knights have won nine contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Kevin Reyes Mejia was excellent, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. Isaac Sanchez was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Kennedy earned an 8-5 victory over Orange on Saturday.
Carlos Tapia made a big impact no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. What's more, he posted two strikeouts, the most he's had since back in February. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his six plate appearances.
In other batting news, Kennedy let Jonathan Arreola and Anthony Hernandez run wild. Arreola scored a run while getting on base in three of his six plate appearances, while Hernandez scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his six plate appearances. That's the most runs Hernandez has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Daniel Monge, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Kennedy hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Orange struck out nine times.
Kennedy has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.8 runs on average over those games. As for Katella, their victory bumped their record up to 13-3.
Kennedy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Katella hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .330. It's a different story for Kennedy, though, as they've only averaged .239. Will they be able to contain Katella's hitters?
Katella took their win against Kennedy in their previous matchup back in March of 2021 by a conclusive 10-0 score. Will the Knights repeat their success, or do the Fighting Irish have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
