The Grant Lancers will challenge the Van Nuys Wolves at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Grant 3.1, Van Nuys 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Friday, Grant got the win against Arleta by a conclusive 10-4. The victory continues a trend for the Lancers in their matchups with the Mustangs: they've now won eight in a row.
Damian Gonzalez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off six hits (and only one walk). Gonzalez was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Grant got a big performance out of Sonny Robledo, who went 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI Robledo has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jonathan Gonzalez, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Grant always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .622. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Van Nuys has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.65 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Saturday. They came up short against Serra, falling 13-2. The Wolves have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Van Nuys saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kevin Mata, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base.
Grant's win bumped their record up to 10-5. As for Van Nuys, their loss dropped their record down to 11-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Grant has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Van Nuys struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.6 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Grant's way against Van Nuys in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, as Grant made off with a 9-2 victory. Will the Lancers repeat their success, or do the Wolves have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
