The Center Cougars will be playing in front of their home fans against the Florin Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.
Last Thursday, Center suffered a rough 10-4 loss at the hands of Marysville.
Ryan Pineo was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Florin put the finishing touches on their ninth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They blew past Natomas 16-5. Winning may never get old, but Florin sure is getting used to it with their third in a row.
Jordan Wilson and Mason McNany made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Wilson struck out nine batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Meanwhile, McNany pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also only allowed one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Wilson scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while McNany scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Florin got a massive performance out of Estevan Wheeler, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Wheeler has been hot recently, having posted two or more stolen bases the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was JaLon Johnson, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-2.
Center has not been sharp recently as the team has lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-11 record this season. As for Florin, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a massive bump to their 10-7 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Center has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Florin struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Center's way against Florin in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 as Center made off with a 9-2 victory. Will Center repeat their success, or does Florin have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
