The El Dorado Cougars will challenge the Foresthill Wildfires at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
El Dorado gave up the first runs on Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. They walked away with a 10-5 win over Argonaut. The Cougars haven't had any issues with the Mustangs recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
Gavin Ashton made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in April of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-4. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, El Dorado let Clay Garrett and Joe Parsons run wild. Garrett scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Parsons scored a run while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Trent Vail, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Foresthill). They blew past Sacramento Country Day 29-5 last Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Wildfires with their most commanding win of the season.
Like El Dorado, Foresthill also got a great game from a two-way player: Waylon Gossic. Throwing, Gossic tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Hunter Byrum tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Gossic also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Foresthill is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-2 otherwise. At the plate, Gossic scored three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances, while Byrum scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Byrum has been hot for a while, having posted at least one stolen base the last 11 times he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on David Silveira, who scored four runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-4. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 2.2 runs per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Cooper Stanowicz, who scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances.
Foresthill always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .609. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matches.
El Dorado's win bumped their record up to 7-5. As for Foresthill, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. El Dorado has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Foresthill struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
