For the first time this season, Port of Los Angeles will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup on Thursday. They will square off against the King/Drew Golden Eagles at 3:00 p.m. Port of Los Angeles' pitching crew has only allowed 3.7 runs per game this season, so King/Drew's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
While Port of Los Angeles' win against WISH Academy wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. Port of Los Angeles came out on top in a nail-biter against WISH Academy on Tuesday, sneaking past 2-1.
Jonathan Rosette was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Rosette was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing Two bases. while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, Damian Ochoa was excellent, going 3-for-4 with one triple and one RBI. That RBI marked the first that he brought in this season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for King/Drew, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. Everything went their way against Mendez on Monday as King/Drew made off with an 11-1 victory. The Golden Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by ten runs or more this season.
Like Port of Los Angeles, King/Drew also got a great game from a two-way player: Angel Chavez. Throwing, Chavez pitched 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Meanwhile, Danilo Meade tossed 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the fewest earned runs Chavez has allowed since back in April of 2024. At bat, Chavez scored a run and stole Two bases. while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Meade scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-5. King/Drew is undefeated when Meade posts two or more runs, but 1-2 otherwise.
In other batting news, King/Drew got a big performance out of Anthony Valenzuela, who scored two runs and stole Three bases. while going 1-for-4. What's more, Valenzuela posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Joel Medrano, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and three RBI.
King/Drew always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .526. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mendez only posted an OBP of .174.
King/Drew is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-2 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. The win got Port of Los Angeles back to even at 3-3.
Port of Los Angeles came up short against King/Drew when the teams last played back in April of 2024, falling 7-3. Can Port of Los Angeles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
