Imperial and Calexico are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2021, but likely not for long. The Imperial Tigers will be playing at home against the Calexico Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. This will be Imperial's first chance to prove their worth in the conference.
Imperial was handed a seven-run defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Saturday. They had just enough and edged out Central 4-3.
Bruno Hernandez
| 03/08/25 @ Central | 2 |
| 03/04/25 @ Brawley | 0 |
| 02/22/25 vs Coachella Valley | 1 |
Bruno Hernandez looked comfortable as he tossed 3.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Imperial saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jacob Gastelum, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, Calexico came tearing into Saturday's contest with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.6 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Tigers a 7-0 shutout.
Calexico also got a great performance from David Lara as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over five innings pitched.
At the plate, Jose Ortega was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. Ander Garcia was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Calexico always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in four consecutive matchups.
Imperial is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. Calexico's victory bumped their record up to 6-2.
Calexico's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Imperial has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Calexico, though, as they've been averaging only 4.1 strikeouts. Will Imperial keep running through batters, or will Calexico buck the trend?
Imperial suffered a grim 7-0 defeat to Calexico when the teams last played on Saturday. Can Imperial avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
