The Hoover Cardinals will head out on the road to take on the Crawford Colts at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Neither Hoover nor Crawford posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.
Last Friday, Hoover didn't have quite enough to beat High Tech SD and fell 2-1.
Manny Miranda spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits and racked up 15 Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Hoover saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Diego Castro, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Crawford was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their ninth straight loss. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Kearny.
Hoover has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-11 record this season. As for Crawford, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-14.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hoover has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Crawford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hoover was able to grind out a solid victory over Crawford when the teams last played two weeks ago, winning 11-6. Will Hoover repeat their success, or does Crawford have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
