Baseball Recap: Point Arena's Win on Friday Extends Winning Streak to Nine

Point Arena waltzed into their contest on Friday with eight straight wins... but they left with nine. They walked away with an 11-6 victory over the Grace Christian Academy Lions. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 3-2 on Tuesday.

Jose Bernal was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out 11 batters over 5.1 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off 11 hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and three runs.

In other batting news, Mateo VanCleave and Jimmy Owens did most of the damage at the plate: VanCleave went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run, while Owens got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Owens is becoming a predictor of Point Arena's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-4 when he doesn't). Fernando Lopez was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.

Point Arena pushed their record up to 10-4 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.8 runs on average over those games. As for Grace Christian Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-2.

Point Arena didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 6-5 loss against St. Vincent de Paul on the 14th. As for Grace Christian Academy, they have also already played their next game, a 9-6 defeat against Victory Christian Academy on the 12th.