The Riverdale Cowboys will head out on the road to face off against the Fresno Christian Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Riverdale is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They never let Desert get on the board and left with a 6-0 victory.
The result came thanks to CHARLIE COX's shutout, as he gave up just five hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Riverdale let ALEJANDRO SOLORIO and CARLOS CABRERA run wild. SOLORIO went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI, while CABRERA went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. That's the most hits SOLORIO has posted since back in April. EMMANUEL BOJORQUEZ was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one triple and one run.
Riverdale always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Desert only posted an OBP of .214.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last match, Fresno Christian made sure to put some runs up on the board against McFarland on Friday. The Eagles were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over the Cougars. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Eagles' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Braden Belmont was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit over six innings pitched. Belmont was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of Fresno Christian's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 7-16 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Josh Kubota was incredible, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. He has become a key player for Fresno Christian: the team is 6-2 when he posts at least two runs, but 5-14 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Joseph Davila, who went 1-for-3 with one home run.
Riverdale has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-16 record this season. As for Fresno Christian, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 11-16.
Everything went Riverdale's way against Fresno Christian in their previous meeting back in April, as Riverdale made off with a 13-3 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cowboys since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
