Chico is 8-2 against Foothill since April of 2024 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Panthers will challenge the Cougars. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Chico 2.6, Foothill 2.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Chico is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They walked away with a 5-2 victory over Pleasant Valley. Winning may never get old, but the Panthers sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Chico got a great performance from Vinny Boatwright as he struck out nine batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. Boatwright has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.
Guiseppe Bianchi
| 05/19/26 vs Pleasant Valley | 3 |
| 05/15/26 @ Foothill | 2 |
| 05/12/26 vs Enterprise | 2 |
| 05/05/26 vs Pleasant Valley | 0 |
| 05/05/26 vs Pleasant Valley | 2 |
| + 6 more games |
On the hitting side, Chico let Guiseppe Bianchi and Jorden Neugebauer run wild. Bianchi went a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double, while Neugebauer went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That's the most hits Bianchi has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Tanner Horn, who went 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Foothill got themselves on the board against Pleasant Valley on Tuesday, but Pleasant Valley never followed suit. They came out on top against the Vikings by a score of 4-0.
The result came thanks to Matthew Baas's shutout, as he gave up just five hits.
At the plate, Foothill saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Blake Schwerdt, who went 2-for-4 with one triple and one run.
Foothill's win bumped their record up to 22-7. As for Chico, their victory bumped their record up to 21-8.
Chico came out on top in a nail-biter against Foothill when the teams last played on Friday, sneaking past 8-7. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
