The De La Salle Spartans will take on the Granada Matadors at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as De La Salle comes in on ten and Granada on four.
De La Salle is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Redwood 7-6. That's two games straight that the Spartans have won by just one run.
Kaleo Jones looked comfortable as he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Jacob Gray was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season. Another player making a difference was Nash Beckman, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
De La Salle was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Redwood only posted a batting average of .259.
Clayton Valley Charter typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Granada proved too difficult a challenge. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over the Eagles. That's two games straight that the Matadors have won by exactly two runs.
Braden Makley spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on one hit and racked up eight Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jack Badger, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Joseph Holt was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Granada's victory bumped their record up to 19-8. As for De La Salle, their win bumped their record up to 21-4.
Granada's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: De La Salle hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .312. It's a different story for Granada, though, as they've only averaged .218. Will they be able to contain De La Salle's hitters?
De La Salle got the 'W' in their previous meeting on May 1st against Granada by a conclusive 10-3 score. Will the Spartans repeat their success, or do the Matadors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
