The Tulare Western Mustangs will take on the San Joaquin Memorial Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Tulare Western is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They walked away with a 6-1 win over Kerman on Saturday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Mustangs.
MJ Chavez looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, James Romero was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Those stolen bases marked the first that he has snagged this season. Another player making a difference was Nathan Gonzalez, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one double.
Tulare Western was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Kerman only posted a batting average of .160.
While San Joaquin Memorial didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-12), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They put the hurt on Selma with a sharp 10-0 victory on Saturday. The contest marked the Panthers' most dominant win of the season so far.
Joe Alvarez made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, earning four RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Beckham Matoian, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four runs and one RBI. Max Rusk was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three runs.
Tulare Western's record now sits at 2-4. As for San Joaquin Memorial, their record is now 6-1.
Tulare Western was able to grind out a solid victory over San Joaquin Memorial in their previous meeting back in March of 2023, winning 6-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mustangs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
