The Los Osos Grizzlies will face off against the Hillcrest Trojans at 3:15 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Los Osos 2.9, Hillcrest 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Los Osos is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of California's top teams: Centennial, who was ranked 13th at the time (Los Osos was ranked ninth). The Grizzlies had just enough and edged out the Huskies 5-3.
Zenen Pena and Jordan Mejico dominated on the mound. Pena tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit, while Mejico pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Pena has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Joshua Chairez, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Hillcrest came tearing into Thursday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Panthers a 14-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Trojans, who have now won seven contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Chris Sampson was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in February. James Henson was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Hillcrest hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least three batters in three consecutive games.
Los Osos is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.9 runs over those games. As for Hillcrest, their victory bumped their record up to 9-4-1.
Los Osos beat Hillcrest 7-2 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Do the Grizzlies have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Trojans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
