The Liberty Ranch Hawks will be playing in front of their home fans against the Venture Academy Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Liberty Ranch's pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so Venture Academy's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Things were looking good for Liberty Ranch after they put the first points on the board on Friday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They fell just short of El Dorado by a score of 3-2. The defeat continues a trend for Liberty Ranch in their matchups with El Dorado: they've now lost three in a row.
Kade Lecompte was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He tossed 6.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. Lecompte has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive pitching appearances. Lecompte was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI.
Lecompte wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Garrett Owen, who went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Venture Academy put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Friday. Everything went their way against Stone Ridge Christian as Venture Academy made off with a 9-3 victory. The win was familiar territory for Venture Academy who now have five in a row.
Like Liberty Ranch, Venture Academy also got a great game from a two-way player: Alexander Wolf-Gallegos. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 14 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits (and only one walk). Wolf-Gallegos was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Isaac Stewart, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Xavier Perez, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Liberty Ranch's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 15-8. As for Venture Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 13-8 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Liberty Ranch has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Venture Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Liberty Ranch's way against Venture Academy when the teams last played back in February of 2017 as Liberty Ranch made off with a 12-2 victory. Will Liberty Ranch repeat their success, or does Venture Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
