The Kennedy Thunderbirds will face off against the South Spartans at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Kennedy is headed into Saturday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their eighth straight game dating back to last season on Friday. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 3-2 heartbreaker at the hands of Arvin.
Miguel Gutierrez
| 02/28/25 @ Arvin | 3 |
| 02/26/25 @ Foothill | 1 |
| 02/29/24 @ Foothill | 1 |
| 02/20/24 @ Arvin | 1 |
Kennedy saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Miguel Gutierrez, who went 3-for-4 with one triple and one run. The dominant performance also gave Gutierrez a new career-high in hits (three).
Even though they lost, Kennedy kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Arvin only managed five hits.
Meanwhile, South came up short against Wasco on Friday and fell 18-14. The Spartans haven't had much luck with the Tigers recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Josh Encinas was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 3.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Encinas was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Alex Portillo and Tomas Encinas stepped up to the plate in a big way. Portillo scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-5, while Encinas scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Julien Espinoza, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Kennedy's loss dropped their record down to 0-2. As for South, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-1.
Kennedy might still be hurting after the 7-1 loss they got from South in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Can Kennedy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
