The Porterville Panthers are taking a road trip to take on the Mt. Whitney Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Porterville has given up an average of 7 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Porterville is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to ten runs on Thursday, they were much more limited against El Diamante on Monday. They came up short against the Miners, falling 11-2.
Porterville saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gio Perez, who went 1-for-2 with one double. Cade Correa also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Mt. Whitney had already won two in a row and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. They put the hurt on the Marauders with a sharp 8-1 victory. The Pioneers not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since March 1st (when they won 11-3).
Damian Garcia spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Mt. Whitney got a massive performance out of Eli McLennan, who went 3-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. McLennan has become a key player for the Pioneers: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least three hits, but 5-18 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Genaro Villarreal, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs and one double.
Porterville's loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 7-19. As for Mt. Whitney, their win bumped their record up to an identical 7-19.
Porterville skirted past Mt. Whitney 1-0 in their previous meeting back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
