The Foothill Falcons will venture away from home to face off against the Novato Hornets at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Foothill fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Amador Valley on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Dons by a score of 3-2.
George Schmitt was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He pitched 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in 11 consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with one run.
In other pitching news, Foothill got a good showing from Brik Hansen, who kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over four innings pitched. Hansen has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single hit in three consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, RJ Manicki was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Novato had no trouble coming through when it counted. They won by a run and slipped past Redwood 9-8. The victory was familiar territory for the Hornets, who have now won eight matchups in a row.
Hunter Lynch and Trevor Cleary did most of the damage at the plate: Lynch got on base in five of his eight plate appearances with one home run and two runs, while Cleary went 4-for-8 with five RBI, one triple, and one run. Those four hits gave Cleary a new career-high. Cohen Garcia also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Foothill's record is now 14-10. As for Novato, their win bumped their record up to 20-6.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Foothill has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.8 hits per game. However, it's not like Novato struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.3 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.