The North Salinas Vikings will take on the Watsonville Wildcatz at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. North Salinas is coming into the contest hot, having won their last 12 games.
North Salinas' pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Marina with a sharp 10-0 win. Considering the Vikings have won 14 matchups by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Jake Burkhardt, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Johnny Benabides was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
North Salinas always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .560. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Marina only posted an OBP of .118.
Meanwhile, Watsonville suffered their biggest loss since March 7th on Thursday. They came up short against King City, falling 10-2.
Watsonville saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Patrick Miller - Brown, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
North Salinas' victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-5. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Watsonville, their defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-12.
Tuesday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. North Salinas has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .490. However, it's not like Watsonville struggles in that department as they've averaged .486. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
North Salinas came out on top in a nail-biter against Watsonville when the teams last played back in May of 2024, sneaking past 3-1. Will the Vikings repeat their success, or do the Wildcatz have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
