The King City Mustangs will venture away from home to face off against the Watsonville Wildcatz at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. King City is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak.
King City fell victim to North Salinas and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They came up short against the Vikings, falling 10-0.
Meanwhile, Watsonville got the win against Pajaro Valley on Saturday by a conclusive 11-2. Considering the Wildcatz have won eight matchups by more than eight runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Mathew Silva made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has become a key player for Watsonville: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most three hits, but 8-10 otherwise. Silva was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That triple was his first of the season.
In other batting news, Brody Barto was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Francisco Rodriquez-Bermundez, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Watsonville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .585. They are 8-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Watsonville has been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 games. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-11 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for King City, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-14.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. King City has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Watsonville struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 5.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
King City couldn't quite finish off Watsonville when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 2-0. Can the Mustangs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
