Merced is 1-9 against El Capitan since May of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Merced Bears will head out on the road to face off against the El Capitan Gauchos at 4:00 p.m.
Last Friday, Merced suffered a tough 11-5 defeat at the hands of Hughson.
Cooper Frost made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored three runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Julian Gomez, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI.
El Capitan lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Central Valley, but it's fair to say they've redeemed themselves given the result of 4's matchup. El Capitan never let Central Valley onto the board and left with a 7-0 victory on Thursday.
Matthew McQuillen spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just zero earned runs on two hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Braylen Centeno was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2. Juan Munoz was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.
Merced's loss dropped their record down to 11-8. As for El Capitan, their win bumped their record up to 10-11.
Merced suffered a grim 9-0 defeat to El Capitan in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Merced, Andrew Bakken (who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out seven over five innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
