The Steele Canyon Cougars are taking a road trip to take on the Clairemont Chieftains at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Steele Canyon comes in on three and Clairemont on five.
Steele Canyon's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They came out on top against Grossmont by a score of 4-0.
Steele Canyon got a great performance from Hunter Haase as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over six innings pitched. Haase has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jonah Arens, who went 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high.
Meanwhile, Clairemont was able to grind out a solid win over Classical Academy on Friday, taking the game 5-1.
Diego Matsumoto spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on six hits.
On the hitting side, Luis Murrieta was excellent, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Nate Kelly, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Clairemont kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in five consecutive contests.
Clairemont's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-5. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for Steele Canyon, their record now sits at 6-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Steele Canyon has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Clairemont struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Steele Canyon took their victory against Clairemont in their previous meeting back in April of 2022 by a conclusive 15-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
