The Sanger West Hornets will head out on the road to square off against the Justin Garza Guardians at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Sanger West is coming into the contest on a five-game losing streak.
Sanger West saw some tournament action on Wednesday. They took a 7-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of Dos Palos.
Sanger West saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Aydan De Leon, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base. That stolen base marked the first that De Leon has snagged this season.
Meanwhile, after low-scoring totals in their previous four match, Justin Garza brought some dynamite into their most recent game. They skirted past Clovis West 11-10. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Guardians have posted since March 7, 2024.
Brycen Dwiggins made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Justin Garza is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-12 otherwise. Dwiggins was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
In other batting news, Luke Trukki was a standout: he got on base in three of his five plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Bohden Smith, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
Justin Garza hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in three consecutive contests.
Sanger West's defeat dropped their record down to 3-15. As for Justin Garza, the victory snapped their losing streak at four games and leaves them with a 4-13 record.
Justin Garza's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday. Sanger West has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Justin Garza, though, as they've been averaging only 3.9 strikeouts. Will Sanger West keep running through batters, or will the Guardians buck the trend?
Sanger West came up short against Justin Garza in their previous meeting on April 4th, falling 7-4. Can the Hornets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
