The Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets are taking a road trip to take on the Calipatria Hornets at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
Friday just wasn't the day for Palo Verde Valley's offense. They came up short against Calexico on Friday, falling 6-0. The loss continues a trend for the Yellow Jackets in their meetings with the Bulldogs: they've now lost seven in a row.
Meanwhile, Calipatria was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They lost 14-7 to Mountain Empire.
Oscar Lopez made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. He has become a key player for Calipatria: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 2-4 otherwise. Brandon Espinoza also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Calipatria now has a losing record of 4-5. As for Palo Verde Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 11-8-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Palo Verde Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Calipatria struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Palo Verde Valley's way against Calipatria in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Palo Verde Valley made off with a 22-7 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Yellow Jackets 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
