The California Pintos will challenge the St. Paul Lutheran Saints at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
California's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They had just enough and edged out Knob Noster 1-0. The victory continues a trend for the Pintos in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won five in a row.
Meanwhile, St. Paul Lutheran beat Lexington 15-10 on Wednesday. With that win, the Saints brought their scoring average up to 6.1 runs per game.
Gus Sayre made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ty McGinnis, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Jaydon Battista, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs and two RBI.
St. Paul Lutheran kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
St. Paul Lutheran pushed their record up to 11-6 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.7 runs over those games. As for California, their victory bumped their record up to 15-9.
California was able to grind out a solid win over St. Paul Lutheran in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 8-3. Will the Pintos repeat their success, or do the Saints have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
