La Palma, CA — The song says “what a difference a day makes.” For Kennedy and Valencia, you just have to add an extra day and the song applies. On Tuesday, both teams combined for 13 hits and 10 runs. On Thursday, after 7 innings they managed only 5 hits and no runs. The raucous, free-swinging display in the first meeting became a pitching duel in the return matchup. Albert Munoz took the mound and threw a masterpiece. He had a 4 hit shutout through 7 innings while striking out 6 and, according to most expectations, should have walked off with a victory. However, Valencia’s Shawn McHale was even tougher. He allowed but one hit through 8 innings, struck out 6, and completed an 8-inning shutout. Only 4 Irish runners reached base against him and no-one ever got into scoring position. After Johnny Soto got a one out hit in the first inning, McHale retired the next 12 batters in order. The game fell apart for Kennedy in the top of the 8th inning. After Logan Garcia led off with a single, Josh Carrera attempted to bunt him to second. Wyatt Johnson fielded the ball and threw a strike to second base to seemingly nip the runner. Unfortunately, the call went against Kennedy and the entire tenor of the game changed. A couple of bunts and a bloop later, Valencia had put 3 runs on the board. A fourth run was nipped at the plate by a fine throw from left-fielder Jason May to Sebastian McSherry. On the bright side, Kennedy played some solid defense with shortstop Chase Leonard and fleet-footed center-fielder Evan Anderson among those turning in steady performances. Kennedy returns to action next Tuesday against Crean Lutheran in a 3pm tilt in Irvine.