The Hot Dogs Varsity baseball team performed highly against the Peru Tigers and the Western Panthers during the round-robin on Saturday
to secure a victory after a slow start to the game that quickly ramped up as the Hot Dogs’ bats fired up in the fifth inning on Tiger Field.
The Hot Dogs defeated the Tigers, who boast a record of 13-2, in the first game with a final score of 6 to 3 with Oscar Lopez earning the win with six innings on the mound as Matthew Berry picked up the last inning to round out the game.
The Hot Dogs and Tigers kicked off the game with a slow start, both earning 0 runs in the first two innings before the Hot Dogs slammed one run in the third inning, which the Tigers quickly made up with a run in the fourth inning. The Hot Dogs bounced back with four runs in the fifth, followed by the Tigers’ final two runs at the bottom of the inning. In the sixth inning, the Hot Dogs secured one more run, holding the Tigers for the bottom of the sixth and seventh for a final score of 6 to 3 with eight hits for the Hot Dogs and four hits for the Tigers.
During the top of the first, the Hot Dogs stranded a base runner, swiftly followed by the Tigers also stranding a base runner in the bottom of the first inning. The Hot Dogs stranded another runner in the second inning, followed by the Tigers being held to three outs without a hit or walk.
The Hot Dogs scored their first run in the third inning with a walk and a single while the Tigers left a runner on as one player walked while another singled, eventually being picked off at first to end the inning.
In the fourth inning, the Hot Dogs left two runners on base with a walk and an error before the Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a lead-off triple, being given home during a wild pitch to tie the game.
The Hot Dogs fired up their offense in the fifth inning, starting a two-out rally that secured enough runs to win the game off four singles, a double and a walk to bring the score to 5 to 1. The Tigers bounced back in the bottom of the fifth with a walk and a single before another single to left field drove in one run. As the Hot Dogs intentionally walked the next batter, a clutch hit drove in another run for the Tigers before the inning drew to a close, tightening the score to 5 to 3.
In the sixth inning, the Hot Dogs scored one more run to round out the top of the inning before holding the Tigers with three consecutive outs. The seventh inning saw both teams go “three up, three down” to end the game.
The Hot Dogs maintained the momentum by defeating the #7 ranked Western Panthers in the second game with a score of 13-4. Chino Valdes earned the win on the mound against the Panthers while Lalo Castillo led the offense with four hits and five RBIs to round out the game.