The Northwood Timberwolves will head out on the road to challenge the Portola Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Northwood is coming into the game hot, having won their last six games.
Northwood is headed into the match fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victor by an 11-0 margin over Capistrano Valley Christian on Saturday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Garret Stevenson tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Northwood let Luke Hansen and Andres Hernandez loose on the outfield. Hansen scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Hernandez scored a run while going 1-for-2. Another player making a difference was Kai Mo, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Portola ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They skirted past Irvine 2-1. The win made it back-to-back victories for Portola.
Portola saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Rocky Palacio, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with a stolen base. Palacio is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Solomon, who got on base in two of his three plate appearances with two stolen bases.
Northwood's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-5-1. As for Portola, they now have a winning record of 11-10-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Northwood has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Portola struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Northwood's way against Portola when the teams last played back in March of 2023 as Northwood made off with an 8-2 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Northwood since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
