A feisty cat fight will be fought as Kerman Lions face off against Taft Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Kerman's pitching crew has only allowed two runs per game this season, so Taft's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Kerman took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They came out on top against Dos Palos by a score of 5-1. The Lions haven't had any issues with the Broncos recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Ayden Olivares made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in May of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
In other batting news, Adrian Torres was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. That stolen base was his first of the season. Vaughn Blunt was another key player, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-1.
Meanwhile, while Taft put up some runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Kennedy. Taft was the clear victor by a 10-0 margin over Kennedy. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Wildcats.
Not much got past Ben Nuncio, who gave up just a hit and racked up 16 Ks to keep Kennedy off the board. That's the most strikeouts Nuncio has posted since back in March of 2024.
On the hitting side, Dylan Clark and Blayne Farkas did most of the damage at the plate: Clark scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Farkas scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Taft always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Kennedy only posted an OBP of .100.
Taft's victory bumped their record up to 2-6. As for Kerman, their win bumped their record up to 5-2-1.
