The Newbury Park Panthers will take on the Ventura Cougars at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.
It was a proper cat-fight when Newbury Park duked it out with Oaks Christian on Friday. The Panthers came up short against the Lions, falling 9-2. That's two games in a row now that the Panthers have lost by exactly seven runs.
Newbury Park got a good showing from Noah Habib, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. That's the first time Habib hasn't allowed a single earned run since back in March.
Meanwhile, Ventura had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it nine on Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Chargers a 6-0 shutout. The Cougars might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matchups by six runs or more this season.
Caleb Sebek and Cooper Tinkey made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Sebek tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Tinkey didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Sebek has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in ten consecutive appearances. At the plate, Sebek went 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Tinkey went 2-for-3 with one run and one double. Those three RBI gave Sebek a new career-high.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Josh Woodworth, who went 1-for-3 with one run.
Ventura's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-6-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Newbury Park, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 12-14 record this season.
Newbury Park took their victory against Ventura in their previous matchup back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 9-0 score. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cougars turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
