Highlands is on an eight-game streak of home losses, and Lanier a 12-game streak of away losses dating back to last season. However, someone's due for a change in luck on Thursday. The Highlands Owls will be playing at home against the Lanier Voks at 7:00 p.m.
Edison hit Highlands with a six-run second inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Owls fell 9-5 to the Golden Bears.
Javier Madrigal was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he struck out 12 batters over six innings while giving up five earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits. Madrigal was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one run and one double.
In other batting news, Jonathan Vigil and Jose Villasenor stepped up to the plate in a big way. Vigil went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI, while Villasenor went 3-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base. Adam Garcia was another key player, earning one RBI, one run, and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lanier). Everything went their way against Sam Houston on Tuesday as they made off with a 16-4 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Voks considering their one-run performance the matchup before.
Mahmadulah Azizi tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits.
On the hitting side, Jordan Perez was a standout: he got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two). Another player making a difference was Anthony Cordero, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Lanier always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .703. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Lanier's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-13. As for Highlands, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-17.
Everything went Highlands' way against Lanier in their previous matchup back in March, as Highlands made off with a 9-2 win. Do the Owls have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Voks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
