It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Elk Grove can now relate to. They fell just short of the Granite Bay Grizzlies by a score of 4-3 on Friday. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Elk Grove of the 5-1 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in March.
Ned Frutchey put in work no matter where he played. 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 has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in ten consecutive pitching appearances. 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 was cooking despite his team's loss, going 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.
Like Elk Grove, Granite Bay also got a great game from a two-way player: Chase Bentley. He struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. 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.
Elk Grove's record now sits at 21-13. As for Granite Bay, the win (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 24-9.
Elk Grove will be staying on the road on Tuesday to face off against Kingsburg at 4:00 p.m. Kingsburg is coming into the matchup with six straight victories at home, so Elk Grove will have to stop a squad with plenty of momentum. As for Granite Bay, they 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.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
