The Rocklin Thunder will square off against the St. Mary's Rams at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Rocklin: 3.4, St. Mary's: 1.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Rocklin is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. Everything went their way against Franklin as Rocklin made off with a 7-1 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for Rocklin.
Joey Lorenzini was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out nine over 5.2 innings pitched. Lorenzini was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ethan Brown, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and two RBI. Dylan Nusz was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, St. Mary's had already won 15 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.5 runs), and they went ahead and made it 16 on Wednesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Trojans an 8-0 shutout. St. Mary's might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won 16 games by six runs or more this season.
Nico Bavaro tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out nine over six innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, St. Mary's let Rolen Reyes and Tyson Reis loose on the outfield. Reyes scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances, while Reis got on base in all four of his plate appearances with an RBI.
Rocklin's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 24-9. As for St. Mary's, they are on a roll lately: they've won 19 of their last 20 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 27-5 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Rocklin has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. Mary's 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.
Rocklin skirted past St. Mary's 4-3 when the teams last played back in May of 2019. Does Rocklin have another victory up their sleeve, or will St. Mary's turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
