HCYA will take on the West Houston HomeSchool Thunder at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Having struggled with four losses in a row, HCYA turned things around against Brazosport Christian on Thursday. They put the hurt on the Eagles with a sharp 15-4 victory.
James Norman looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Tyde Tracy and Julien Hernandez did most of the damage at the plate: Tracy got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and one stolen base, while Hernandez scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. That's the most runs Tracy has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Joshua Meeks, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, West Houston HomeSchool had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. Everything went their way against Frassati Catholic last Wednesday as they made off with a 14-8 win.
Fischer Bettis was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He tossed 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off five hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because West Houston HomeSchool is 3-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 8-9 otherwise. Bettis was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Thomas LaGorga, who went 3-for-5 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. He has become a key player for West Houston HomeSchool: the team is 6-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 5-9 otherwise. Gabe Sanford was another key player, scoring three runs while going 2-for-4.
West Houston HomeSchool was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .378. They are 3-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
West Houston HomeSchool's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-10. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for HCYA, their victory bumped their record up to 14-12.
HCYA couldn't quite finish off West Houston HomeSchool in their previous matchup back in March and fell 6-4. Can HCYA avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
