The Veterans Memorial Chargers will look to defend their home field on Tuesday against the Harlingen South Hawks at 7:00 p.m. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Veterans Memorial: 1.6, Harlingen South: 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Veterans Memorial is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Porter just ended the team's 19-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 7-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Cowboys.
Veterans Memorial got a good showing from Victor Beltran, who struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). Beltran has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Veterans Memorial saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jose Jimenez, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Harlingen South had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They came out on top against the Yellowjackets by a score of 7-3.
Ayden Medrano was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Medrano was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI.
In other batting news, Colby Martinez and AJ Serna did most of the damage at the plate: Martinez scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Serna scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. D'Angelo Rodriguez was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
Veterans Memorial's defeat ended a seven-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 20-3-2. As for Harlingen South, they have been performing well recently as they've won 13 of their last 16 games, which provided a nice bump to their 18-7-1 record this season.
Tuesday's match might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Veterans Memorial has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .467. However, it's not like Harlingen South struggles in that department as they've averaged .466. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Veterans Memorial was able to grind out a solid victory over Harlingen South when the teams last played back in April of 2023, winning 5-2. Will Veterans Memorial repeat their success, or does Harlingen South have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
