Montgomery is 2-8 against Eastlake since April of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Aztecs will host the Titans at 3:30 p.m.
Montgomery couldn't beat Bonita Vista on Monday even though they stacked four runs on them in the fourth inning. The Aztecs fell just short of the Barons by a score of 5-4.
Juan I?iguez was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed 4.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits.
At the plate, Xavier Beltran and Danny Nu?ez did some serious damage despite the final result: Beltran went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI, while Nu?ez got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one double. AJ Ruvalcaba was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Eastlake had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Cougars a 10-0 shutout. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Nick Romero tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out nine over 4.1 innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Hamza Hatahet and Luca Penteraini did most of the damage at the plate: Hatahet got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs, one double, and one RBI, while Penteraini went 2-for-3 with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI. Those two runs gave Penteraini a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ryan Garcia, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two RBI and one run.
Eastlake was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Eastlake's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-8-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Montgomery, their loss dropped their record down to 9-15.
Montgomery came out on top in a nail-biter against Eastlake in their previous matchup last Friday, sneaking past 2-1. Will the Aztecs repeat their success, or do the Titans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
