The Gadsden Panthers will head out on the road to take on the Mountain View Lobos at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Mountain View took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Gadsden, who comes in off a win.
Gadsden had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 17-run drubbing they dealt Austin on Thursday. Gadsden put the hurt on Austin with a sharp 18-1 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Gadsden considering their one-run performance the game before.
Fabian Gomez Jr. made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Gomez Jr. was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, Aiden Dominguez and Dom Hernandez did most of the damage at the plate: Dominguez went 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Hernandez went 3-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Antonio Castillo was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Gadsden always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .697. The last time their OBP was this high was was before the start of last season.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 15 runs the game before, Mountain View was a bit more limited in their contest on Thursday. They lost 11-1 to Santa Teresa. The Lobos have struggled against the Desert Warriors recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
Esteban Garcia made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple, one run, and one double.
Gadsden's record is now 2-0. As for Mountain View, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 3-1.
