The Mission Oak Hawks will be playing at home against the Independence Falcons at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Mission Oak is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They blew past Golden West 14-1. That 13 run margin sets a new team best for Mission Oak this season.
Gage Hastin made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and only one walk). Hastin was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, Korey Barham was a standout: he went 2-for-5 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Kannon Silva, who scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Taft typically has all the answers at home, but on Thursday Independence proved too difficult a challenge. They had just enough and edged the Wildcats out 2-1. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Independence.
Brandon Gutierrez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, Independence saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Isaiah Guzman, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
The win (which was Mission Oak's third in a row) raised their record to 15-14. As for Independence, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 14-16.
Mission Oak came out on top in a nail-biter against Independence when the teams last played back in March, sneaking past 5-4. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Gutierrez, who pitched six innings while giving up three earned runs off three hits. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Mission Oak still be able to contain Gutierrez? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
