It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Village Christian had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They put the hurt on the Milken Wildcats with a sharp 8-1 win.
Joshua Popjes spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Ethan Tibert was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Johan Pelayo was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
On Milken's side, they saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brandon Weiss, who went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Even though they lost, Milken hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Village Christian struck out six times.
Village Christian has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-7-1 record this season. As for Milken, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-10 record this season.
Village Christian will challenge Brentwood School at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Brentwood School: 1.9, Village Christian: 4) so any runs scored will be well earned. Milken does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
