The McFarland Cougars will square off against the South Spartans at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. McFarland has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with five straight losses, while South will come in with six straight victories.
It was a proper cat-fight when McFarland duked it out with Taft on Thursday. The Cougars came up short against the Wildcats, falling 18-1.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but South ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past North 6-5.
Josh Encinas made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off nine hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Edgar Gurrola looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, South let Jose Bojorquez and Tomas Encinas run wild. Bojorquez got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one double, while Encinas got on base in two of his five plate appearances with four stolen bases and two runs. Bojorquez has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played. Julien Espinoza was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one run.
South always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .524. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North only posted an OBP of .324.
South's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-7. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for McFarland, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-13-1.
McFarland took their victory against South when the teams last played back in March of 2016 by a conclusive 13-2 score. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
