The Branson Bulls will head out on the road to face off against the Sonoma Academy Coyotes at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Branson has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with four straight defeats, while Sonoma Academy will come in with six straight wins.
Branson lost 10-1 to Tamalpais last Friday.
Branson saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Spencer Weinberg, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Sonoma Academy put their dominant pitchers on display in the team's third consecutive shutout on Monday. They blew past Richmond 9-0. The result was nothing new for the Coyotes, who have now won six games by nine runs or more so far this season.
Victor Jennings made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Noah Proctor, who scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Sonoma Academy's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 1-3 when he doesn't). Charlie Mutz was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Sonoma Academy's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-3. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.9 runs over those games. As for Branson, their loss dropped their record down to 5-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Branson has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Sonoma Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Branson's way against Sonoma Academy in their previous meeting back in May of 2015, as Branson made off with a 13-1 victory. Do the Bulls have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Coyotes turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
