The Kennedy Thunderbirds will head out on the road to face off against the Shafter Generals at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Kennedy had just enough and edged McFarland out 2-1. The win made it back-to-back victories for Kennedy.
Miguel Gutierrez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on one hit and racked up 11 Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Kennedy saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Espn Cantu, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Shafter put the finishing touches on their sixth blowout victory of the season last Thursday. They blew past McFarland 11-0. The win was nothing new for Shafter as they're now sitting on three straight.
Alex Casanova-Balderrama was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Casanova-Balderrama was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with three RBI.
In other batting news, Shafter let Joaquin Garza and Jesus Paez loose on the outfield. Garza scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Paez scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Matteo Martinez was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Kennedy's victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-13. As for Shafter, their record now sits at 10-5.
Kennedy took their win against Shafter when the teams last played back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 15-0. Will Kennedy repeat their success, or does Shafter have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
