Strykers charge toward playoff berth with second half success

THE WOODLANDS, Texas-The Woodlands Strykers (16-29, 6-9 second half) are streaming in a positive direction following a 7-2 win over the Victoria Generals on Thursday, July 24th. The win puts the Strykers at 3-3 over the last week and within three games of first place in the standings for the second half of the season. They are 2.5 games out of a coveted top two finish which would put them in the playoffs, which will take place once the season ends in a few weeks.

Having a powerful week for the Strykers is right-handed pitcher Jack Finnegan, who turned in two quality road starts. His first start on July 19th went 7.1 against the Texas Marshals, where he allowed one earned run and struck out eight in picking up the win. The second outing for Finnegan saw him produce a dominant line of 7 innings, no earned runs, nine strikeouts, and a paltry two hits allowed to the Victoria General on July 24th. Add that up and Finnegan’s week looks like this: 14.1 innings, one earned run, 17 strikeouts, two wins. Definitely numbers the Strykers hope get repeated for the duration of the season.

At the plate, catcher Connor Kalisky has hit .400 (4-10) over the last week while driving in five. That’s number ranks Kalisky third overall in RBIs in the league over that time period. In terms of power, Kalisky, along with infielders Spence Rahm and Kevin Santana, all have a home run in the last week. Rahm’s home run puts him up to four on the year, one behind league leaders Matthew Burks of the Victoria Generals and fellow teammate Greg Belton who have five each.

The season continues over the weekend with a series at the Victoria Generals, followed by a home-and-home series with the Acadiana Cane Cutters.