The West Park Panthers will take on the Manteca Buffaloes at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (West Park 3.8, Manteca 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
West Park is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They walked away with a 9-5 victory over Ceres. Winning may never get old, but the Panthers sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Mason Zobel was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Zobel was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Preston Davis looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, Ayden Deome was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one triple. Jace Oliver was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI.
West Park lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since the start of last season.
Meanwhile, Manteca had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They put the hurt on the Raiders with a sharp 7-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Buffaloes, who have now won nine matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Manteca also got a great performance from Jeremy Cross as he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Brody Carabello, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season. Another player making a difference was Nate Slikker, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one double.
West Park's victory was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 23-6. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.6 runs over those games. As for Manteca, their record is now 21-7.
