Sparks hasn't had much luck against North Valleys recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Railroaders will head out on the road to challenge the Panthers at 10:00 a.m. Sparks has given up an average of 10.6 runs per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Sparks is headed into Saturday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their eighth straight game on Wednesday. They lost 11-1 to Portola.
Sparks saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Eli Flores, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, North Valleys had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Saturday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Hawks a 15-0 shutout. Considering the Panthers have won ten contests by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Alejandro Urbina was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Caden Birch, who fired off two home runs, six RBI, and four runs while going 4-for-4. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. Zach Clarke was another key player, scoring four runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
North Valleys hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in three consecutive games.
North Valleys pushed their record up to 15-5 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.2 runs over those games. As for Sparks, their loss dropped their record down to 1-19.
Sparks suffered a grim 10-1 defeat to North Valleys in their previous matchup back in March. Can the Railroaders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
