Vacaville and Vanden are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Vacaville Bulldogs will head out on the road to take on the Vanden Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Vacaville is looking to tack on another W to their four-game streak on the road.
Last Friday, Vacaville got themselves on the board against Fairfield, but Fairfield never followed suit. They skirted past the Falcons 2-0. That's two games straight that Vacaville has won by exactly two runs.
Nik Rostak tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 11 over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Caden Whitten, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Rome Griego, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Vanden can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent contest on Friday. They put the hurt on Armijo with a sharp 12-2 win. While fans of Vanden might be used to big wins, the ten-run margin marked the team's biggest one yet.
Chris Marley tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits (he also only allowed one walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Vanden got a massive performance out of Cayne Hill, who went 3-for-4 with six RBI, a run, and a double. Austin Hammerschmidt was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
Vacaville has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. As for Vanden, their record is now 9-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Vacaville has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Vanden struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Vacaville came out on top in a nail-biter against Vanden in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, sneaking past 3-2. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Vanden's Trevor Morse, who struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Now that he won't be playing on Monday, will it be that much easier for Vacaville to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
