The Ayala Bulldogs will square off against the Centennial Huskies at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ayala is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.9 runs per game this season.
Ayala blew Bonita out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Saturday Bonita got their revenge. The Bulldogs fell just short of the Bearcats by a score of 5-3.
Ayala got a good showing from Isaac Huver, who tossed four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Huver has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Jaden Valenzuela made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Elijah Duarte, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, Centennial entered their tilt with King on Thursday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They walked away with a 15-10 win over the Wolves. That's two games straight that the Huskies have won by exactly five runs.
Joseph Malki looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up three earned runs off only two hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Devin Bishop, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four runs, and four RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. AJ Almaraz was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Centennial was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .424. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matches.
Centennial's victory bumped their record up to 18-7. As for Ayala, their loss ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 18-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ayala has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Centennial struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
