The Elk Grove Thundering Herd will venture away from home to face off against the McClatchy Lions at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, it was close, but Elk Grove sidestepped Davis Sr. for a 7-5 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Thundering Herd.
Cooper Gannon
Cooper Gannon tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Elk Grove is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 1-2 otherwise.
At the plate, Brent Martin was excellent, going 1-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Matt Soares was another key player, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, McClatchy put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Cordova an 8-0 shutout. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by eight runs or more this season.
Ari Silva was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Antonio Barber, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-3. He has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last six times he's played. Gabe Coronado also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
McClatchy's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Elk Grove, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
