Granite Bay had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They had just enough and edged the Elk Grove Thundering Herd out 4-3. The victory was familiar territory for Granite Bay who now have five in a row.
Chase Bentley made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Bentley has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Bentley was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Bentley wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Peter Caldera, who went 1-for-1 with a stolen base. Caldera has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive pitching appearances.
Like Granite Bay, Elk Grove also got a great game from a two-way player: Ned Frutchey. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off two hits (and not a single walk). Frutchey was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in four of his six plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Russell Pettis was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over 4.2 innings pitched.
Back at the plate, Troy Taylor made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run, and an RBI. Another player making a difference was Ethan Groves, who got on base in three of his six plate appearances with an RBI.
Even though they lost, Elk Grove didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 15 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Granite Bay has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 24-9 record this season. As for Elk Grove, their defeat dropped their record down to 21-13.
Granite Bay will head out on the road to face off against Archbishop Mitty at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Granite Bay's pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so Archbishop Mitty's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Elk Grove, they are on the road again on Tuesday to play Kingsburg at 4:00 p.m. Kingsburg is on a six-game streak of home wins, Elk Grove a three-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the field.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
