The Alhambra Lions are taking a road trip to face off against the McClintock Chargers at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
On Wednesday, Alhambra made easy work of Carl Hayden Community and carried off an 11-3 win. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 games by six runs or more this season.
Kevin Isaac spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on five hits and racked up 12 Ks.
On the hitting side, Christopher Martinez was a standout: he scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Nicolas Reyes, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, McClintock entered their tilt with Central on Wednesday with three consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with four. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Bobcats a 13-0 shutout. The Chargers' pitching crew has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a run in their last four matchups.
Javier Alvarado made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because McClintock is undefeated when he allows at most two earned runs, but 6-7 otherwise. Alvarado was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. That home run marked the first that he launched this season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Elias Baldwin, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-1. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2024. Valiant Spanko also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
Alhambra's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for McClintock, their record now sits at 12-7.
Everything went Alhambra's way against McClintock in their previous meeting two weeks ago, as Alhambra made off with a 13-4 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lions since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
